The value of posterior rhinomanometry in evaluating patients with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe most frequent and common respiratory sleep pathology encountered in medical practice is snoring associated or not with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by repetitive, partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep despite simultaneous respiratory effort, resulting in episodic hypoxemia and arousal. Respiratory disorders during sleep are very common in the general population and they are estimated to affect approximately 4% of men and 2% of women in the middle-aged workforce and laboratory investigations in sleepiness potentially increase day by day.It is well known that nasal breathing is the physiological one and that the nasal passages, by their complex structure and rich vascular, lymphatic, glandular and nervous formations, fulfil a very important physiological role. The calibre of the nasal passages, by their architectonic and morphofunctional integrity of the mucosa, help regulate the respiratory airflow, through its vascular-erectile function. The nasal mucosa, due to its morphological structure, ensures the inspired air conditioning function by the following three processes: heating, moistening and filtering. The ENT changes responsible for upper airway obstruction can be represented by nasal pathology, with or without oral and hypopharyngeal pathology. Multilevel obstruction is often present in snoring and ob-ABSTRACT BACKGROUND. Nowadays, snoring and obstructive sleep apnea are the most common sleep-related breathing disorders