Lung

, Volume 187, Issue 1, pp 23–28 | Cite as

Negative Expiratory Pressure (NEP) Parameters Can Predict Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Snoring Patients

  • Sonia Rouatbi
  • Zouhair Tabka
  • Mohamed Dogui
  • Ahmed Abdelghani
  • Hervé Guénard
Article
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Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess whether parameters of the negative expiratory pressure (NEP) technique are able to detect obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in snoring patients. A cross-sectional study included 42 OSAS patients diagnosed by polysomnography (PSG), 34 simple snorers, and 32 healthy subjects. Lung function was measured by using a plethysmograph and the NEP technique was performed with the patient in the seated and supine positions in a random order. The depression was fixed to 5 cmH2O. All patients had normal forced expiratory flow/volume loops. Apneic patients had lower Dflow in both positions with a number of oscillations on the expiratory curve obtained with NEP and an expiratory flow limitation (EFL) in the supine position higher than that of other groups (p < 0.05). Changing from the sitting to the supine position raised the EFL of the three groups, with a significant decrease in Dflow and an increase in the number of oscillations in snoring and OSAS patients (p < 0.05). The analysis of variance showed that only the number of oscillations was significantly different between apneic and snoring patients. NEP constitutes a simple and useful tool for the screening OSAS by EFL, especially the number of oscillations obtained with NEP.

Keywords

Flow limitation Obstructive sleep apnea Oscillations Snoring 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  • Sonia Rouatbi
    • 1
  • Zouhair Tabka
    • 1
  • Mohamed Dogui
    • 2
  • Ahmed Abdelghani
    • 3
  • Hervé Guénard
    • 4
  1. 1.Faculte de medecine Ibn El JazzarSousseTunisia
  2. 2.Faculte de medecine de MonastirMonastirTunisia
  3. 3.Service de pneumophtisiologieSousseTunisia
  4. 4.Faculte de medecine Victor PachonBordeaux 2France

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