[The MRI study of upper airway on obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome]

To investigate the character of upper airway and to offer the reference for clinical treatment through observing the upper airway caliber and its corresponding pharyngeal wall of OSAHS patients by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The upper airway of 33 obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients diagnosed by PSG were analyzed and compared by MRI. The cross-sectional area of the upper airway and thickness of lateral parapharyngeal wall were calculated. The cross-sectional area of the upper airway and thickness of lateral and posterior pharyngeal wall were also measured in 20 nonsnoring age-matched normal subjects selected as the control group.

The cross-sectional areas of upper airway of OSAHS patients were smaller than that of the control. The Thickness of posterior pharyngeal wall and lateral pharyngeal wall of the retropalatal region, retroglossal region and epiglottal region were thicker in patients group than that of the control. The thickness and length of the palate in patients group were larger than that of the control. The cross-sectional areas of retropalatal region of OSAHS patients had negative correlation with apnea hypopnea index (AHI). There was also negative correlation between the retroglossal region cross-sectional area and the neck circumference.

Measurement of upper airway with MRI could observe the change of pharynx cross-sectional area and had reference value in guiding the clinical diagnosis and treatment.