Evaluation Of The Clinical Characteristics Of Upper Airway And Surrounding Tissue Structures In Patients With Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome And Non-positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the differences in upper airway morphology and the Soft tissue around the upper airway between positional(POSA)and non-positional obstructive sleep apnea(NPOSA).Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 85 OSAHS patients(45 NPOSA and 40 POSA)who underwent polysomnography(PSG)and computed tomography(CT).The differences in,and relationships of,the PSG values and CT data between POSA and NPOSA were analyzed.Results: Significant(p < 0.05)differences between the two groups were found in the apnea hypopnea index(AHI),lateral-AHI(L-AHI),soft palate length(SPL),soft palate area(SPA),fat tissue volume of the parapharyngeal,and the coronal diameter(CD)of the narrowest part of the glossopharynx,which were all higher in POSA,except for SPL,SPA,AHI,fat tissue volume of the parapharyngeal,and L-AHI.L-AHI was correlated with the CD(r =-0.297,p = 0.010)of the narrowest level of the glossopharynx,SPL(r = 0.284,p = 0.014),and SPA(r = 0.503,p = 0.011),volume of the parapharyngeal(r = 0.392,p<0.01).Conclusions: In NPOSA,the mLAT of the upper airway was smaller,soft palate was longer,and the fat tissue volume of the parapharyngeal was larger than in POSA.These differences may play significant roles in explaining the main differences between NPOSA and POSA.