Investigation of soft palate-uvula volume using magnetic resonance imaging in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract

AimMRI-based sleep studies have revealed that airway movement disorders are associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). High-quality airway images are crucial for the accurate interpretation and planning of airway obstruction treatments. Our aim is to compare soft palate and uvula volumes, measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in patients with mild and severe OSAS with those of normal individuals, and to exam-ine the association between soft palate-uvula volume and OSAS.MethodRetrospective evaluations were performed on MRI tests of 30 patients with mild OSAS and 30 patients with severe OSAS, all diagnosed using polysomnography and for whom cranial MRI was requested for various reasons. In addition, test subjects also included 30 individuals with no snor-ing symptoms who also underwent MRI tests. Soft palate and uvula volumes were measured on T2 sagittal images at cranial MRI using the Multiplanar Reformat (MPR) Roy free measurement technique.ResultsThe mean soft palate-uvula volumes of patients with mild and severe OSAS were 8.49±2.37 cm3 and 11.29±4.22 cm3, respectively, compared to 6.42±2.23 cm3 for con-trols. Significant differences were determined in terms of soft palate and uvula volumes between the patients with mild and severe OSAS, as well as between the OSAS groups and the normal subjects (p<0.05).ConclusionThe significantly higher soft palate-uvula volume in patients with OSAS suggests that soft palate-uvula volume may play a role in the development of OSAS.

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