Morphological changes in the oropharynx in patients with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Abstract

Introduction. Snoring is a sleep disorder that affects rest during the night, as a symptom of a serious respiratory condition - obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (SOAS). Purpose. Establishing morphological changes in the oropharynx in patients with snoring and OSAS.Material and methods. Descriptive study. A group of 50 patients were examined oropharyngoscopically. The changes in the uvula, pharyngeal pillars and soft palate were examined.Results. Following the examination, 4 groups with changes of the soft palate and uvula were identified: the first group of 7 patients in which the pharyngeal pillars, the soft palate, the entire uvula are visible; the second group of 18 patients - only the soft palate and the uvula with a slight thickening of the soft palate are visible, especially at the level of the palatoglossal and palatopharyngeal pillars and at the base of the uvula; the third group of 15 patients - visible only the soft palate, the uvula is enlarged in size 2- 3 times; the fourth group of 10 patients - the soft palate is not visible.Conclusions. (1) Patients with chronic rhinopathy and OSAS have changes in the oropharynx that predispose to collapse certain regions of the upper airways. (2) The study showed different groups of patients with hypertrophy of the soft palate that narrows the oropharyngeal anteroposterior surface.