[No correlation between reflux of gastric contents and obstructive sleep apnea]

Reflux of gastric contents can be associated with many ENT disorders. Some authors describe an association with obstructive sleep apnea, but it is not clear whether the reflux causes the apnea or vice versa. Furthermore, authors did not distinguish between gastroesophageal reflux and extraesophageal reflux, which is essential to understand a connection with obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore, we performed polysomnography and two-channel pH testing simultaneously in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and compared the findings with data of healthy volunteers. After exclusion of a changed sleep architecture due to the pH testing system, the results show that patients with OSAS do not suffer more often from reflux than healthy volunteers. This is true for gastroesophageal as well as for extraesophageal reflux. Furthermore, an increasing number of reflux events during the night is not correlated with the number of apnea events. Thus, in summary our data cannot support the postulation that there is a connection between obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and reflux disease.