Association between Flexible Nasal Endoscopy, Polysonography Findins and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Severety

Introduction: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a condition with recurrent collapses of the pharyngeal region that result in partial or total reduction in airflow. Its diagnosis and severity depends on the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI), data from the polysomnography exam (PSG). Its pathophysiology includes anatomical disorders of the upper airways that can be assessed through Flexible Nasofibroscopy (FN). Objective: To identify the alterations present in the tests of FN and PSG in patients with OSA and correlate with the AHI. Methods: Cross-sectional study, with data collected from reports of the FN and PSG exams of 81 patients with OSA, seen at an otorhinolaryngology clinic in Tubarão - SC. It was verified the association between the outcome –AHI- and other exposure variables - sociodemographic and clinical. Results: Among the 81 patients, 75.31% were male, 41.98% had mild apnea, 30.86% moderate and 27.16% severe apnea. There was no correlation between FN findings and AHI (p> 0.05). There was a difference between the mean age, number of obstructive episodes per hour of sleep and minimum saturation between the groups with severe and mild apnea (p <0.05). Patients with severe apnea had a higher percentage of sleep phase one and a shorter REM sleep time compared to the mild apnea group (p <0.05). A positive correlation was obtained between: obstructive episodes with sleep stage 1 (p <0.01) and age (p <0.05); between minimum saturation and sleep stage 3 (p <0.05). There was an inverse correlation between obstructive episodes with minimal saturation (p <0.001), with sleep stage 3 (p <0.01) and with REM sleep (p <0.01); between age and minimum saturation (p <0.01). Conclusion: OSA directly interferes with sleep architecture. The present study did not find association between upper airway alterations and OSA severity.