Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology  2016;23(2):97-99

doi:10.14401/KASMED.2016.23.2.97

A Case of Nasal Surgery for a Positive Airway Pressure-Intolerant OSAS Patient Due to Nasal Obstruction.

Jae Hyun JUNG 1 ; Sang Woo SEON ; Seung No HONG ; Ji Ho CHOI

Affiliations

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Keywords

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome; Positive airway pressure; Compliance; Nasal surgical procedures

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Positive airway pressure (PAP) is currently recommended as a primary treatment for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and positively affects various subjective and objective parameters related to OSAS, such as the apnea-hypopnea index, excessive daytime sleepiness, and blood pressure. However, PAP also exhibits various adverse effects, including skin breakdown, pressure intolerance, claustrophobia, unintentional mask removal, mouth leaks, and dryness. Especially, unintentional mask removal due to nasal obstruction may result in poor PAP compliance. A 47-year-old male patient with severe OSAS who had low PAP compliance due to nasal obstruction underwent nasal surgery. After the surgery, nasal obstruction was corrected and the patient experienced improved PAP compliance (from 30.4% to 86.7%). This case demonstrates that nasal surgery may be useful for improving PAP compliance in OSAS patients with nasal obstruction.