Successful sleep apnea surgery can reduce tossing and turning at night
Posted in Sleep Disorders/Snoring on February 21, 2011
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is known to cause many serious health problems, but other problems may arise from OSA that may cause significant problems in everyday life. One common problem associated with OSA is frequent movement or position changes throughout the night. This can be particularly bothersome for the sleep partners of OSA patients. A recent study in the February 2011 issue of Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology looked at whether surgical procedures designed to treat sleep apnea also reduce the amount of position changes that occur while sleeping. A total of 53 patients who underwent upper airway surgery for OSA were included. Of the 53 patients, 25 were deemed to have unsuccessful surgery based on the preoperative to post-operative change in their Apnea-Hypopnea index (AHI), a measure of sleep apnea, whereas the other 28 patients were deemed to have had successful surgery. The pre-operative and post-operative sleep studies also measured to amount of time each patient spent in certain body positions (back down, stomach down, on right side, etc) while sleeping, utilizing a body position sensor. The 25 patients who did not have successful surgery showed no change in their body position index, a measure of the position shifts per hour, while the 28 patients who did have successful sleep apnea surgery showed a 45% decrease in the index. This study indicates that a potential benefit from successful sleep apnea surgery is less tossing and turning at night- a finding that can make both patients and their sleep partners potentially very happy.
Sincerely,
Nilesh Shah, MD