Clinical and polysomnographic assessment of the BRD Appliance in the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Cibele DAL-FABBRO, Cauby Maia CHAVES JUNIOR, Lia Rita Azeredo BITTENCOURT, Sergio TUFIK

Objectives: This research was designed to perform a clinical and polysomnographic evaluation of the effect of an oral appliance (OA) for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS), developed and tested by two Brazilian federal universities. Methods: The sample consisted of 50 patients (aged between 18 and 65 years, 33 men and 17 women) with initial polysomnographic diagnoses of mild to moderate OSAS. All patients underwent a new polysomnographic assessment during an entire night (using the OA) approximately six months after the first evaluation. Based on the reduction of apnea and hypopnea index (AHI) obtained with the use of the OA, the patients were divided into good responders (reduction of 50% or more of the AHI, remaining below 10 events/hour) and poor responders (AHI remained greater than or equal to 10 events/hour). Results and Conclusions: In 54% of the sample, the AHI decreased to less than five events/hour with the use of the OA; in 38% the reduction in AHI was greater than 50% but remained above the five events/hour; and in 6% of the sample the AHI decreased less than 50%. The good responders accounted for 86% of the studied sample, while the other 14% were poor responders. There were significant improvements in the sleepiness scale, the AHI, the micro-arousals and the minimum oxyhemoglobin saturation with the utilized therapy. A high Body Mass Index seemed to negatively interfere in the performance of the device under study.

Keywords: Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Polysomnography. Respiratory protection devices. Snoring.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 10:50