Nasal-CPAP surgery, and conservative management for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome - A randomized study

Study objective: To assess separately the effectiveness and safety of nasal-continuous positive airway pressure (N-CPAP) and that of surgery in comparison to conservative management in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Design: A randomized study with 1-year follow-up. Setting: A university hospital acting as a referral center for OSAS. Patients: Symptomatic patients with OSAS (72 male and 4 female patients aged 18 to 65 years), who had oxygen desaturations in the overnight recording. Interventions: After the initial diagnostic workup, patients were considered to be candidates for either N-CPAP (44 patients) or surgical treatment (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty [UPPP] with or without mandibular osteotomy) (32 patients). Within the groups, the patients were then randomized to either the assigned treatment or conservative management. Main outcome measures: The number of nocturnal oxygen desaturation events of 4% or more per hour in bed (ODI4); daytime somnolence; side effects. Results: N-CPAP Group: Compliance with N-CPAP therapy at 1 year was 13 of 21, The most common reason for noncompliance was general intolerance of CPAP, All compliant patients had a normal ODI4 (<10), whereas 1 of 20 of their control subjects had a normal finding. Patients receiving active treatment were significantly less somnolent than their control subjects at 1 year (p<0.05). Surgery Group: At 1 year, 7 of 18 of the surgically treated and 1 of 14 of the conservatively treated patients had a normal ODI4 (p<0.001), Daytime somnolence was significantly less severe in the surgically treated patients compared with their control subjects (p<0.001) both at 3 and 12 months, The overall postoperative complication rate was 22%. Conclusions: N-CPAP is an effective therapy for OSAS, but compliance is a problem, Surgical therapy (UPPP with or without mandibular osteotomy) needs further evaluation.