Drug Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE). A comparative study between NOHL and VOTE classifications

Introduction and objective: There is no standardized method to express DISE results. Several classifications have been proposed, but none are globally accepted. The objective of this study is to analyze the most used classifications: NOHL and VOTE to assess which of them provides more advantages. Method: A prospective cohort study of 100 patients who underwent DISE was carried out. Three otolaryngologists blindly evaluated the DISE videos and coded the results according to the NOHL and VOTE scales and at what level surgery was indicated. Results: According to the main researcher, in 64% of patients, surgery of only one level was indicated, being the palate the predominant level, followed by a 26% where multilevel surgery was indicated, and in 10% no surgery was indicated. The global agreement to express the DISE results according to the NOHL, VOTE scales regarding the degree of obstruction is moderate / regular at the level of the epiglottis (k = 0.467) and low in the rest of the structures (k = 0.097). Discussion: Although the degree of interobserver agreement is similar in both scales, for VOTE it is slightly higher. Conclusions: DISE is a safe, reproducible and easy to perform test. We recommend the use of the VOTE scale because it has been demonstrated to have a higher degree of interobserver agreement, it is not only the most widely used scale, but also recommended in consensus documents.