• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.238-248
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• 2015

Sleep related breathing disorders(SRBDs) are a group of diseases accompanied by difficulties in respiration and ventilation during sleep. Central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea(OSA), sleep-related hypoventilation, and hypoxemia disorder are included in this disease entity. OSA is known to be the most common SRBDs and studies show its significant correlation with general health problems including hypertension, arrhythmia, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. The diagnostic process of OSA is composed of physical examinations of the head and neck area and also the oral cavity. Radiologic studies including cephalography, CT, MRI, and fluoroscopy assist in identifying the site of obstruction. However, polysomnography(PSG) is still considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of OSA since it offers both qualitative and quantitative recording of the events during a whole night's sleep. The dentist who is trained in sleep medicine can easily identify patients with the risk of OSA starting from simple questions and screening questionnaires. Diagnosis is the first step to treatment and considering the high rate of under-diagnosis for OSA the dentist may play a substantial role in the diagnosis and treatment of OSA which will eventually lead to the well-being of the patient as a whole person. So the objective of this article is to assist dental professionals in gaining knowledge and insight of the diagnostic measures for OSA including PSG.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.369-376
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• 2001

Objectives : The purposes of the study was to evaluate cephalometric characteristics in snorers and patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and to see any relationships between the cephalometric measurements and respiratory disturbance indices (RDI). Materials and Methods : Twelve snoring patients, 11 patients with OSA, and 10 normal subjects were included for the study. After taking a screening sleep study for a night to obtain RDI, $SaO_2$, and snoring index, a detailed cephalometric analysis was conducted to obtain SNA, SNB, SN-MP, IAS, MAS, SPAS, SAAS, Mn-H, and PNS-P. All the data were compared between groups. For a group including 12 snoring patients and 11 OSA patients, correlation coefficients were calculated between respiratory disturbance index and each item of cephalometric measurements. Results : The mandible and the maxilla are retropositioned. The oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal airway is reduced in area and is a factor that could produce or enhance OSA symptoms. The hyoid bone is displaced inferiorly. The soft palate is significantly elongated. Conclusions : These data suggest that cephalometric evaluation could be useful to evaluate snoring and OSA patients, and to assist with the planning treatment for improvement of upper airway patency.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2008

Objectives: A few studies have compared REM sleep-dependent obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (REM-OSA) with sleep stage non-dependent apnea syndrome (SND-OSA). Despite that REM-OSA might be more common in women than men, no studies have examined the probable characteristics of women patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). This study aimed at finding out the characteristics of REM-OSA in women by comparing it with SND-OSA. Methods: Fifty-three subjects diagnosed as OSAS (AHI>5 ; AHI : apnea-hypopnea index) with nocturnal polysomnography at the Center for Sleep and Chronobiology of the Seoul National University Hospital between October 2004 and February 2006 were studied. Of them, 44 subjects with OSAS severity of mild (52 and AHI-NR<15 (AHI-R : AHI during REM sleep, AHI-NR : AHI during non-REM sleep). We compared REM-OSA group with SND-OSA as well as the criteria-determined REM-OSA cases with the visually-determined ones. Results: Among 44 subjects, 28 persons (63.6%) turned out to have REM-OSA by our criteria and 24 persons (54.5%) by visual determination. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found between REM-OSA and SND-OSA groups in AHI, hypopnea index, total sleep time, total wake time, sleep efficiency index, percents of stage 1, 2 and REM sleep, and REM latency. Percent of stage REM sleep (%REM) turned out to have influence on AHI ratio (AHI-R/AHI-NR) (B=0.537, p=0.002). REM-OSA was likely to be diagnosed in milder severity of OSAS (${\chi}^2=13.117$, p<0.001) and those with higher %REM (${\chi}^2=11.325$, p=0.001). There was no significant difference between the criteria-determined and the visually-determined cases of REM-OSA. Conclusion: We suggest that REM-OSA and SND-OSA patients be differentiated in terms of pathophysiology and treatment strategies. Visual determination of REM-OSA might be useful as the screening procedure of REM-OSA. Further studies on women with OSAS and REM-OSA need to be done.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.27 no.6 s.65
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• pp.865-870
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• 1997

The submental region in patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is Perceived to be larger than normal. Therefore, neck thickness has become a variable routinely measured during clinical screening of OSA subjects. In general, OSA Patients are believed to have a large tongue and a narrow airway. To test if OSA patients have a larger face and tongue than non-apneics, eighty pairs of upright and supine cephalograms were obtained from four groups of subjects subclassified in accordance with severity. The sum of distances between pairs of landmarks was calculated for each subjects and employed as a pure size variable for the face and tongue. Only tongue size becomes larger in accordance with apnea severity in both body positions (P<.01). Tongue size reflects apnea severity, yet it Provides only a small fraction of the explanation with regard to apnea severity. We conclude that size may be one factor of many which are significantly related to OSA severity.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.75-80
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• 2014

This paper proposed a method that can automatically classify sleep apnea by using features extracted from pulse rate variability(PRV) signals induced from piezo snoring sensor for patients with obstructive sleep apnea(OSA). We have extracted eight features(NN, SDNN, RMSSD, NN10, NN50, LF, HF and LF/HF ratio) based on time and frequency analyses of PRV. Sleep apnea was classified by a linear discriminant analysis(LDA). A performance was evaluated using snore recordings from 13 patients with OSA (ages: $54.5{\pm}10.5$ years, body mass index: $26.3{\pm}2.5kg/m^2$, apnea-hypopnea index: $19.2{\pm}6.0/h$). The sensitivity and specificity were $78.9{\pm}0.9%$ and $78.9{\pm}0.9%$ for training set and $77.7{\pm}10.9%$ and $79.0{\pm}2.8%$ for test set, respectively. Our study demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a piezo snoring sensor based on a portable device as a simple and cost-effective solution for contributing to the OSA screening.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.82 no.4
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• pp.335-340
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• 2019

Background: Snoring is the cardinal symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Snoring and upper airway obstruction associated with major oxygen desaturation may occur in populations undergoing flexible bronchoscopy. Methods: To evaluate the prevalence of patients at a high risk of having OSA among patients undergoing bronchoscopy with sedation and to investigate whether snoring during the procedure predicts patients who are at risk of OSA, we prospectively enrolled 517 consecutive patients who underwent the procedure with moderate sedation. Patients exhibiting audible snoring for any duration during the procedure were considered snorers. The STOP-Bang (Snoring, Tiredness, Observed apnea, high blood Pressure-Body mass index, Age, Neck circumference and Gender) questionnaire was used to identify patients at high (score ${\geq}3$ out of 8) or low risk (score <3) of OSA. Results: Of the 517 patients, 165 (31.9%) snored during bronchoscopy under sedation. The prevalence of a STOP-Bang score ${\geq}3$ was 61.9% (320/517), whereas 200 of the 352 nonsnorers (56.8%) and 120 of the 165 snorers (72.7%) had a STOP-Bang score ${\geq}3$ (p=0.001). In multivariable analysis, snoring during bronchoscopy was significantly associated with a STOP-Bang score ${\geq}3$ after adjustment for the presence of diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, and stroke (adjusted odds ratio, 1.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.26-2.89; p=0.002). Conclusion: Two-thirds of patients undergoing bronchoscopy with moderate sedation were at risk of OSA based on the screening questionnaire. Snoring during bronchoscopy was highly predictive of patients at high risk of OSA.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.82-86
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• 2011

Objectives: The Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) has been used to help identify patients at high risk of having sleep apnea in primary care. But it has not been validated in a sleep clinic for Korean patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the BQ as a screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for Korean patients in a sleep clinic. Methods: The BQ was prospectively applied to 121 subjects with OSA suspicion who visited to our sleep clinic. All subjects performed overnight polysomnography. OSA was defined as an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ${\geq}5$. We investigated the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the BQ according to severity by AHI. Results: In 121 subjects, 73.6% were males, with a mean age of $48.8{\pm}13.0$ years. Twenty-five (20.6%) patients did not have OSA (AHI<5), 30 (25%) patients had mild OSA ($AHI{\geq}5$ and <15), 26 (21.4%) had moderate ($AHI{\geq}15$ and <30), and 40 (33%) had severe OSA ($AHI{\geq}30$). The BQ identified 69.4% of the patients as being at high risk for having OSA. The sensitivity and specificity of the BQ were 71.9% and 40%, for $AHI{\geq}5$, 75.8% and 38.2% for $AHI{\geq}15$, 77.5% and 34.6% for $AHI{\geq}30$, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of the BQ were 82.1% and 27.0% for $AHI{\geq}5$, respectively. Positive and negative likelihood ratios were 1.2 and 0.7, and the overall diagnostic accuracy of the BQ was 65.3%, using an AHI cut-off of 5. Conclusion: Due to modest sensitivity and low specificity, the BQ does not seem to be an appropriate tool for identifying patients with obstructive sleep apnea in a sleep clinic population.