Multilevel radiofrequency ablation for snoring and OSAHS patients therapy: long-term outcomes
- نوع فایل : کتاب
- زبان : انگلیسی
- مؤلف : Andrea De Vito Sabrina Frassineti Maria Laura Panatta Filippo Montevecchi Pietro Canzi Claudio Vicini
- چاپ و سال / کشور: 2011
Description
Our objective is to evaluate the outcomes of the Radio-Frequency (RF) energy for tissue thermo-ablation therapy in sleep-disordered breathing patients and retrospective evaluation of the RF therapy after a 5-year followup period, in terms of snoring and apnea reduction. From June 1999 to June 2009, we enrolled patients suffering from simple snoring and patients with obstructive apnea hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS). A visual analog scale (VAS) questionnaire was used to evaluate the level of snoring and was filled out in short- and long-term periods, whereas in OSAHS patients an unattended polysomnography was performed before and after a minimum of 6 months from the last RF therapy treatment session. The presence of postoperative pain was assessed by means of a specific VAS. Results stated that 187/250 patients finished the RF therapy. In the simple snoring group, mean snoring VAS decreased from 7.48 to 3.7 (P\0.0001). In the post-operative snoring group, mean snoring VAS decreased from 7.6 to 3.6 (P\0.0001). In the mild-to-moderate grade OSAHS group, AHI decreased from a mean value of 18.1 to a mean value of 12.9 (P\0.0001). Furthermore, we recorded a mean post-operative pain VAS of one in each group of patients. Our results suggest an important role of RF therapy in the improvement of snoring solution, but not for a significant AHI reduction. Level of evidence 2c
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol., Received: 7 March 2011 / Accepted: 10 May 2011 Springer-Verlag 2011
