Introduction:
Upper airway stimulation (UAS) is a therapy alternative for patients with obstructive
sleep apnea. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of UAS compared to patients
with tonsillectomy and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (TE-UPPP).
Material and Methods:
Patients with UAS were compared to patients after TE-UPPP and matched regarding age,
body mass index and apnea hypopnea index (AHI), but showed differences regarding upper
airway anatomy. The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated by applying the responder
rate, percentage of patients with a postoperative AHI < 10/h and < 5/h and the reduction
of subjective daytime symptoms.
Results:
In both groups 43 patients were included retrospectively. In the UAS group the initial
AHI of 33,1 ± 14,1/h was reduced to 7,8 ± 8,4/h and in the TE-UPPP group from 31,1
± 15,4/h to 11,9 ± 11,8/h (p < 0.001, respectively). The responder rate in the UAS
group was 90,6% and in the TE-UPPP group 71.9% (p < 0.05). The percentage of patients
with a postoperative AHI of < 10/h and < 5/h was 81.3% and 59.4% in the UAS group
and 43.8% and 33.3% in the TE-UPPP group (p < 0.05 compared to UAS). Regarding the
effect on the subjective daytime symptoms there was no significant difference between
the groups.
Conclusion:
Both UAS and TE-UPPP effectively reduce the initial AHI in obstructive sleep apnea.
There are signs for a superior efficacy of UAS, even though there might be differences
regarding the upper airway anatomy between the two groups.
