Evaluation of cross-section airway configuration of obstructive sleep apnea

Upper airway imaging techniques can be useful to identify the exact location and nature of the obstruction in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Ten OSA patients and 10 non-OSA control subjects were imaged using cone-beam computed tomography (NewTom QR-DVT9000) to compare their upper airway structure. The OSA subjects presented higher BMI (OSA: 29.5 +/- 9.05 kg/m(2); non-OSA: 23.1 +/- 3.05 kg/m(2) [P = 0.34]), lower total volume (mm(3)) of the airway (OSA: 4868.4 +/- 1863.9; non-OSA: 6051.7 +/- 1756.4 [P =.054]), statistically significantly smaller anterior-posterior dimension (mm) of the minimum cross-section segment (OSA: 4.6 +/- 1.2; non-OSA: 7.8 +/- 3.31 [P = .009]), and smaller minimum cross-section area (OSA: 45.8 +/- 17.5 mm(2); non-OSA: 146.9 +/- 111.7 mm(2) [P = .011]) positioned below the occlusal plane in 70% of the cases (OSA:7 out of 10; non-OSA: 5 out of 10 [P = .030]). The OSA group presented a concave or elliptic shaped airway and the non-OSA group presented a concave, round, or square shaped airway.