COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC AND CEPHALOMETRIC STUDIES IN OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA (OSA

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a potentially life­ threatening disorder principally characterized by current collapse of the pharyngeal airway during sleep resulting in snoring and daytime sleepiness. It affects 4% of men and 2% of women between the ages of 30 and 60 years. OSA has important pathological consequences with an increased incidence of hypertension, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction and stroke. Mortality is raised probably largely secondary to cardiovascular causes. Among the etiopathogenic factors, studies of the upper airway show that OSAS patient pharynges are narrower than those of healthy people. This is also found in explorations carried out during awake periods. In addition, the degree of upper airway obstruction correlated directly to OSAS severity. Intense studies of upper airway structure and function have clarified considerably the detailed pathogenesis of OSA and newer therapeutic approaches for OSA have been developed. Upper airway imaging techniques have been used to assess upper airway size and function in patients with OSA. To share in this new developing field of researches, we have designed this study to clarify the role of cephalometry and computed tomography during awake periods in distinguishing patients with OSAS from healthy people and in estimating the severity of the disease.