The upper airway evaluation of habitual snorers and obstructive sleep apnea patients

To investigate the relationship between the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) and upper airway examination findings of habitual snorers and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients.

This study included 264 patients whose tonsils were evaluated in 4 grades. The Mallampati classification was used to determine the relationship between tongue and palate. All patients performed the Müller maneuver in a sitting position. The Fujita classification was used to define the type of obstruction. All patients had polysomnography and were divided into 4 groups according to AHI. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between examination findings and AHI.

Of the patients, 133 (50.4%) were habitual snorers, 66 (25%) were mild OSA, 40 (15.2%) were moderate OSA and 25 (9.5%) were severe OSA patients. There was a positive correlation between neck circumference, BMI and AHI in males (p < 0.001). There was a significant difference between patient groups according to Mallampati classification, collapse at the velopharyngeal level and hypopharyngeal level and Fujita classification (all p < 0.001). There were significant relationships between tonsil size, Fujita classification, Mallampati classification, collapse ratios and AHI.

We saw that hypopharyngeal area often contributes to obstruction and some examination methods correlate more with AHI. This can aid sleep physicians in the evaluation of OSA patients.