[The upper airway CT scan in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome].

OBJECTIVE

To compare the CT scan results in OSAS patients and normal adults so as to explore its value in measuring upper airway structure.

METHOD: 53 patients with OSAS and 53 normal adults were included in the study. The upper airway from roof of nasopharynx to glottis was evaluated with the use of a Phlips Tomoscan AV Expander E1 spiral scanner. The area and the dimensions of palate, uvula, lingua and epiglottis region was studied, and the thickness of retropharyngeal and lateral pharyngeal tissue were evaluated, too.

RESULT: There were obviously differences between OSAS patients and normal adults in the areas of palate, uvula, lingua, and there are differences of dimension and thickness in different sites.

CONCLUSION

The study suggests that there is a obviously difference between the patients with OSAS and normal adult in upper airway by CT scan. The anatomic structure of upper airway is one of causes of OSAS.