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The association of OSAS and uvula: the role of MRI in this egg-chicken problem in OSAS

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a condition resulting from repetitive partial or complete upper airway obstruction, and its etiology remains uncertain. Polysomnography is the gold standard diagnostic test for OSAS. However, there are long wait times for this evaluation, so questionnaires or ancillary diagnostic methods are used to select appropriate patients. One of these is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The present study aimed to investigate the association between clinical features of OSAS and uvular changes on MRI.

Materials and methods

A total of 102 participants, 80 with OSAS and 22 controls, were included in the study. All participants underwent full-night polysomnography, MRI, and anthropometric measurements.

Results

In comparisons of MRI measurements of the uvula, statistically significant differences in uvular length, thickness, and angle were observed between the OSAS and control groups. MRI measurement significantly associated with apnea–hypopnea index was uvular thickness. Evaluation of anthropometric and MRI measurements revealed statistically significant associations between waist circumference and uvular thickness, uvular width, and oropharyngeal space among the OSAS patients.

Conclusion

Thickened uvula on MRI is associated with the presence of OSAS, and its thickness is well correlated with the severity of the diseases. Thus, it may be a reliable indicator of OSAS and could be used as a supportive finding to identify patients suitable for referral for diagnostic polysomnography.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pulmonary Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Yakutiye, 25240, Erzurum, Turkey

    Omer Araz, Elif Yilmazel Ucar & Metin Akgun

  2. Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey

    Adem Karaman & Fatih Alper

  3. Department of Radiology, Erzurum Training and Research Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey

    Veysel Esdur

  4. Department of Radiology, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Irmak Durur Subasi

Authors
  1. Omer Araz
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  2. Adem Karaman
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  3. Veysel Esdur
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  4. Elif Yilmazel Ucar
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  5. Irmak Durur Subasi
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  6. Fatih Alper
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  7. Metin Akgun
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Correspondence to Omer Araz.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (name the institution/committee) and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Araz, O., Karaman, A., Esdur, V. et al. The association of OSAS and uvula: the role of MRI in this egg-chicken problem in OSAS. Sleep Breath 24, 465–470 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01879-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01879-3

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