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Surgery for Sleep Disorder May Cut Cardiovascular Risk: Presented at AAO-HNSF

By Jill Stein

NEW YORK, NY -- September 22, 2004 -- New findings suggest that surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) may cut cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients who refuse continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment or are not candidates for such treatment.

The data were presented here on September 20^th at the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting.

Michael Friedman, MD, Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, and co-workers evaluated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin -6 (Il-6) preoperatively and 2 months postoperatively in 34 patients scheduled for surgical treatment for OSAHS.

All patients failed CPAP treatment prior to considering surgical correction of the upper airway. The most commonly performed procedure was uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with tongue base radiofrequency reduction.

Seven patients were treated for mild and 23 for moderate/severe OSAHS. Almost all patients with moderate/severe disease had relative elevation of preoperative CRP levels.

Results showed that the mean CRP level decreased from 0.33 m/dL to 0.16 m/dL from baseline (P <.001).

When patients were evaluated in two separate groups according to response to surgical treatment based on postoperative polysomnographic results. The decrease in CRP level was equal in the two groups. "This demonstrates the value of surgical OSAHS treatment even without achievement of classical cure criteria," Dr. Friedman observed.

Improvement of sleep architecture, sleep quality, and reduction of nocturnal hypoxia with surgical treatment of OSAHS may decrease the risk of cardiovascular events, Dr. Friedman said. The benefits of surgical treatment, he added, may be greater than indicated by cure rates based on classical polysomnographic criteria.

He cautioned, however, that possible study limitations include the lack of a control group and short follow-up period in this study.


[Presentation title: "Reduction of Cardiovascular Risks With Surgical Treatment of OSAHS." Abstract R070]

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