ABSTRACT
The current guideline discusses conservative and surgical therapy of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults from the perspective of the ear, nose and throat specialist. The revised guideline was commissioned by the German Society of Ear-Nose-Throat, Head-Neck Surgery (DG HNO KHC) and compiled by the DG HNO KHC's Working Group on Sleep Medicine. The guideline was based on a formal consensus procedure according to the guidelines set out by the German Association of Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF) in the form of a"S2e guideline". Research of the literature available on the subject up to and including December 2008 forms the basis for the recommendations. Evaluation of the publications found was made according to the recommendations of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM). This yielded a recommendation grade, whereby grade A represents highly evidence-based studies and grade D those with a low evidence base.
Subject(s)
Evidence-Based Medicine , Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/therapy , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Cohort Studies , Germany , Humans , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/diagnosisABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Besides operation the mandibular advancement splint (MAS) is one of the main options for treatment of snoring. Especially the MAS by Hinz, which exclusively blocks mandibular retrusion, has been established as an effective alternative. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of this MAS and to evaluate the role of obstruction at the level of the tongue base as a successful pretherapeutic predictor by using the sleep nasal endoscopy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: From August 2001 until August 2006 we have examined over 450 patients with sleep disorders at our hospital. All patients have had an ENT examination, a standardized polysomnography and a sleep nasal endoscopy with therapy simulation. The application of a MAS is indicated if an obstruction at the level of the tongue base is detected and the RDI (respiratory disturbance index) is below 10/h. 10 patients are examined by PSG and partly by sleep nasal endoscopy before and after adjustment of the MAS. The patient group is classified in three velum- (n = 3), isolated tongue base-snorers, five combined tongue base-/velum- and two tongue base-/epiglottis-snorers. RESULTS: The subjective sleep recovery and the snoring-intensity can be improved by the MAS in eight of ten patients. In addition the long-term acceptance of this therapy is very high. CONCLUSIONS: According to our experiences the MAS by Hinz is an effective treatment option for patients with an obstruction level at the tongue base confirmed by sleep nasal endoscopy.
