Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Diagnosis and Management

As part 2 of three chapters on sleep disordered breathing, this chapter reviews obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis and management. OSA should be considered in all patients who have loud habitual snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, and witnessed apneas. On physical examination, craniofacial abnormalities that can lead to sleep apnea include retrognathia, micrognathia, a narrow hard palate, nasal obstruction, an overjet, and an overbite. Enlargement of the upper airway soft tissue structures (the tongue, soft palate, lateral walls, and parapharyngeal fat pads) also increases the risk of OSA. The gold standard for making the diagnosis of OSA is overnight polysomnography, but home sleep apnea tests (HSAT) are rapidly gaining acceptance, especially in patients with a high probability of OSA. The first line of therapy for OSA remains positive airway pressure (PAP), with the second line of therapy being oral appliances. Another alternative to PAP therapy is hypoglossal nerve stimulation, which has been shown to decrease the Apnea-Hypopnea index by 67.4%. This review contains 6 figures, 3 tables, and 52 references. Key Words: craniofacial abnormalities, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, home sleep apnea test, hypoglossal nerve stimulation, obstructive sleep apnea, oral appliances, oral pharyngeal crowding, polysomnography, positive airway pressure, STOP-BANG