Polysomnographic Assessment on Osahs Outcomes in Patients with Nasal Obstruction Undergoing Septoplasty with Partial Inferior Turbinectomy

The relationship between nasal obstruction and obstructive sleep apnea has raised interest among otolaryngologists since years. There are studies that suggest that surgical correction of nasal obstruction improves sleep quality and reduces symptoms of sleep apnea. This lead to our study to understand the effect of nasal surgery on obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Aim: To assess the effect of nasal surgery in improvement in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Hypopnoea Syndrome in patients with nasal obstruction by Polysomnography (PSG). Material and methods: This study included 30 patients with nasal obstruction who underwent septoplasty and/or turbinate reduction procedure with pre and post operative assessment of respiratory distress index (RDI) including apnoea hypopnoea index (AHI), obstructive apnoea index (OAI), Snoring Index (SI) using polysomnography (PSG). Result: Nasal correction surgery showed statistically significant improvement (p-value < 0.001) in RDI from 13.66 to 6.66, OAI from 6.34 to 3.18 and Snoring Index from 161.77 to 62.23 as assessed by polysomnography. There was statistically significant improvement in minimal saturation levels (during sleep) and positional sleep apnoea. Conclusion: Isolated nasal surgery like septoplasty and/or turbinate reduction improved sleep parameters and alleviated OSA symptoms in patients with static nasal obstruction and obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome. However, patients with multilevel or dynamic airway obstruction may need further intervention.