Measured and self-reported olfactory function in voluntary Norwegian adults.

PURPOSE: The lack of epidemiological data on the proportion of olfactory dysfunction (OD) using comprehensive olfactory assessment in healthy adults in Scandinavia motivated to the present study which aimed to explore the proportion of OD in voluntary healthy Norwegian adults, assessed by Sniffin' Sticks, and its correlation to self-reported olfactory function. Furthermore, sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with olfactory function were analysed. METHODS: The sample included 405 Norwegian participants, aged 18-78 years, 273 women and 132 men, who underwent olfactory testing with extensive Sniffin' Sticks test, allergy testing, clinical examination with nasal endoscopy and completed a self-administered questionnaire, including self-evaluation of olfactory function on a 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale. RESULTS: We found that 37% had OD, of which 1.2% had anosmia assessed with extensive Sniffin' Sticks test. The proportion of hyposmia and anosmia increased with age. Men and participants with low education had poorer olfactory function scores. Allergy, smoking status, general health and endoscopic findings were not associated with measured olfactory function. We found no correlation between self-reported and measured olfactory function. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified that a large proportion of our sample of voluntary healthy Norwegian adults have OD, considerably more common in older adults and somewhat more common in men and individuals with low education. The lack of correlation between self-reported and measured olfactory function highlights the importance of using validated tests for a reliable olfactory evaluation.

Contralateral suppression of otoacoustic emissions in a clinical sample of children with auditory processing disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The suppression of evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE) may serve as a clinical tool to evaluate the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex, which is thought to aid speech discrimination (particularly in noise) by selectively inhibiting cochlear amplification. The present study aimed to determine if contralateral transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) suppression was present in a clinical sample of children with listening difficulties with and without auditory processing disorder (APD). DESIGN: A three-group, repeated measure design was used. STUDY SAMPLE: Forty three children aged 8-14 years underwent an auditory processing assessment and were divided into three groups: children with reported listening difficulties with APD, children with reported listening difficulties without APD, and children with normal hearing. APD was defined as per British Society of Audiology. RESULTS: TEOAE suppression was present in all three participant groups. No significant group, age or ear effects were observed for TEOAE suppression in dB or as a normalised index. CONCLUSION: Contralateral TEOAE suppression method could not be used as a clinical tool to identify APD in this study's participating children and did not support the hypothesised link between reduced MOC function and general listening difficulties in background noise in children with or without APD.

Electrophysiological characteristics in children with listening difficulties, with or without auditory processing disorder.

Objective: To determine if the auditory middle latency responses (AMLR), auditory late latency response (ALLR) and auditory P300 were sensitive to auditory processing disorder (APD) and listening difficulties in children, and further to elucidate mechanisms regarding level of neurobiological problems in the central auditory nervous system. Design: Three-group, repeated measure design. Study sample: Forty-six children aged 8-14 years were divided into three groups: children with reported listening difficulties fulfilling APD diagnostic criteria, children with reported listening difficulties not fulfilling APD diagnostic criteria and normally hearing children. Results: AMLR Na latency and P300 latency and amplitude were sensitive to listening difficulties. No other auditory evoked potential (AEP) measures were sensitive to listening difficulties, and no AEP measures were sensitive to APD only. Moderate correlations were observed between P300 latency and amplitude and the behavioural AP measures of competing words, frequency patterns, duration patterns and dichotic digits. Conclusions: Impaired thalamo-cortical (bottom up) and neurocognitive function (top-down) may contribute to difficulties discriminating speech and non-speech sounds. Cognitive processes involved in conscious recognition, attention and discrimination of the acoustic characteristics of the stimuli could contribute to listening difficulties in general, and to APD in particular.

Frequency and prognostic factors of olfactory dysfunction after traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency and factors associated with posttraumatic olfactory dysfunction, including anosmia, in a follow-up of patients with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: The setting was a cross-sectional study of patients that were consecutively included in the Trondheim TBI database, comprising injury-related variables. Eligible participants 18-65 years were contacted 9-104 months post trauma and asked olfactory-related questions. Those reporting possible posttraumatic change of olfaction were invited to further examination using the Sniffin' Sticks panel. RESULTS: Of 211 eligible participants, 182 (86.3%) took part in telephone interviews and 25(13.7%) were diagnosed with olfactory dysfunction. 60% of these, or 8.2% of all participants, had anosmia. In age-adjusted logistic regression analyses, fall (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.0-6.2), skull base fracture (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.2-7.1) and cortical contusion(s) (OR 6.0, 95% CI 2.1-17.3) were associated with olfactory dysfunction. In an analysis of anosmia, fall (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.1-10.6) and cortical contusion(s) (OR 19.7, 95% CI 2.5-156.0) were associated with the outcome. CONCLUSION: Of the study participants 13.7% had olfactory dysfunction and 8.2% had anosmia. Higher age, trauma caused by fall and CT displaying skull base fracture and cortical contusion(s) were related to olfactory dysfunction.

Normative data for diagnosing auditory processing disorder in Norwegian children aged 7-12 years.

OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this research was to obtain normative data for auditory processing tests for Norwegian speaking children. DESIGN: Participants were administered routine audiological tests and an auditory processing test-battery consisting of Filtered Words, Competing Words, Dichotic Digits, Gaps In Noise, Duration- and Frequency Pattern, Binaural Masking Level Difference and HIST Speech in Noise test. A group of 10-year-old children were retested after two weeks. The effects ear, age and gender and the test-retest reliability were investigated. STUDY SAMPLE: There were 268 normal hearing children aged 7-12 years who participated in the study. RESULTS: Results revealed no differences between genders. The children showed improving performance by age on all tests, except from the Gaps In Noise and Binaural Masking Level Difference. As expected, the children showed a right ear advantage on dichotic speech tests that decreased with age. The test-retest reliability for the tests was good, with a small learning effect on the Filtered Words test. CONCLUSION: Normative data were established and the preferred tests for diagnosing Auditory Processing Disorder were suggested for Norwegian children aged 7-12 years.

Depicting the pterygopalatine ganglion on 3 Tesla magnetic resonance images.

PURPOSE: The pterygopalatine ganglion has yet not been identified on medical images in living humans. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether the pterygopalatine ganglion could be identified on 3 T MR imaging. METHODS: This study was performed on medical images of 20 Caucasian subjects on both sides (n = 40 ganglia) with an exploratory design. 3 T MR images were assessed by two physicians for the presence and size of the pterygopalatine ganglion. The distance from the pterygopalatine ganglion to four bony landmarks was registered from fused MR and CT images. In an equivalence analysis, the distances were compared to those obtained in an anatomical cadaveric study serving as historical controls (n = 50). RESULTS: A structure assumed to be the pterygopalatine ganglion was identified on MR images in all patients on both sides by both physicians. The mean size was depth 2.1 ± 0.5 mm, width 4.2 ± 1.1 mm and height 5.1 ± 1.4 mm, which is in accordance with formerly published data. Equivalence of the measurements on MR images and the historical controls was established, suggesting that the structure identified on the MR images is the pterygopalatine ganglion. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the pterygopalatine ganglion can be detected on 3 T MR images. Identification of the pterygopalatine ganglion may be important for image-guided interventions targeting the pterygopalatine ganglion, and has the potential to increase the efficacy, safety and reliability for these treatments.

Pilot study of sphenopalatine injection of onabotulinumtoxinA for the treatment of intractable chronic migraine.

Objective The main objective of this pilot study was to investigate the safety of administering onabotulinumtoxinA towards the sphenopalatine ganglion in 10 patients with intractable chronic migraine with an open, uncontrolled design. We also collected efficacy data to provide an indication as to whether future placebo-controlled studies should be performed. Method In a prospective, open-label, uncontrolled study after one-month baseline, we performed bilateral injections of 25 IU onabotulinumtoxinA (total dose 50 IU) toward the sphenopalatine ganglion in a single outpatient session in 10 patients with intractable migraine with a follow-up of 12 weeks. The primary outcome was adverse events and the main efficacy outcome was frequency of moderate and severe headache days in month 2 post-treatment compared to baseline. Results All 10 patients experienced a total of 25 adverse events. The majority of these were different types of local discomfort in the face and jaw, and none were classified as serious. In an intention-to-treat analysis of the main efficacy outcome, a statistically significant reduction of moderate and severe headache days in baseline versus month 2 was observed (16.3 ± 6.2 days baseline versus 7.6 ± 7.6 days month 2, p = 0.009). Eight out of 10 patients experienced an at least 50% reduction of moderate and severe headache days compared to baseline. Conclusion The result warrants randomised, placebo-controlled studies to establish both safety and efficacy of this potential novel treatment of chronic migraine.

Paranasal sinus opacification in headache sufferers: A population-based imaging study (the HUNT study-MRI).

Background The association between headache and paranasal sinus disease is still unclear. Because of symptom overlap, the two conditions are not easily studied on the basis of symptoms alone. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether paranasal sinus opacification on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was associated with migraine, tension-type headache (TTH) or unclassified headache. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 844 randomly selected participants (442 women, age range 50-65 years, mean age 57.7 years). Based on 14 headache questions, participants were allocated to four mutually exclusive groups: migraine, TTH, unclassified headache or headache free. On MRI, opacifications as mucosal thickening, polyps/retention cysts and fluid in the five paired sinuses were measured and recorded if ≥1 mm. For each participant, opacification thickness was summed for each sinus and, in addition, a total sum of all sinuses was calculated. Opacification in each sinus was compared between headache-free participants and the headache groups using non-parametric tests, and the total sum was compared by logistical regression. Results No significant association was found between paranasal sinus opacification and headache in general, nor when headache was differentiated into migraine, TTH and unclassified headache. This was also true in separate analyses of mucosal thickening and fluid and of opacification from each paranasal sinus. Conclusion Migraine, TTH and unclassified headache were found not to be associated with an increased degree of paranasal sinus opacification at MRI.

Pilot study of sphenopalatine injection of onabotulinumtoxinA for the treatment of intractable chronic cluster headache.

OBJECTIVE: The main object of this pilot study was to investigate the safety of administering onabotulinumtoxinA (BTA) towards the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) in intractable chronic cluster headache. Efficacy data were also collected to provide indication on whether future placebo-controlled studies should be performed. METHOD: In a prospective, open-label, uncontrolled study, we performed a single injection of 25 IU (n = 5) or 50 IU BTA (n = 5) towards the SPG in 10 patients with intractable chronic cluster headache with a follow-up of 24 weeks. The primary outcome was adverse events (AEs) and the main efficacy outcome was attack frequency in weeks 3 and 4 post-treatment. RESULTS: A total of 11 AEs were registered. There was one severe adverse event (SAE): posterior epistaxis. The number of cluster headache attacks (main efficacy outcome) was statistically significantly reduced in the intention-to-treat analysis from 18 ± 12 per week in baseline to 11 ± 14 (p = 0.038) in weeks 3 and 4, and five out of 10 patients had at least 50% reduction of attack frequency compared to baseline. The cluster attack frequency was significantly reduced for five out of six months post-treatment. CONCLUSION: Randomised, placebo-controlled studies are warranted to establish the potential of this possible novel treatment of cluster headache.

Quality of life and symptoms before and after nasal septoplasty compared with healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study is to compare quality of life (Qol) and symptoms in 91 patients with a deviated nasal septum preoperatively and postoperatively with a control group of 93 healthy individuals. METHODS: All patients reported Qol on Sino-Nasal-Outcome-Test-20 (SNOT-20) and symptoms on visual analogue scale (VAS) preoperatively and 6 months after surgery and the results were compared with the controls. RESULTS: Mean SNOT-20 score improved from 1.8(SD0.9) preoperatively to 0.9(SD0.8) postoperatively (p < 0.000) but did not reach the same level as the controls 0.4(SD0.5). Septum surgery leads to a significant symptom improvement for all symptoms investigated (p < 0.000) on VAS. The patients reached the same level as the healthy controls in 6 of 11 symptoms (headache, facial pain, sneezing, trouble with rhinosinusitis, cough and snoring) but the patients group had significantly more trouble with nasal blockage (VAS 29 vs 9), change in sense of smell (VAS 12 vs5), nasal discharge (VAS 22 vs 11), oral breathing (VAS 23 vs 13) and reduced general health (VAS 12 vs 5) also postoperatively (p < 0.01). Sub analyses showed that allergic patients reported a VAS score of 36 (SD30) for nasal blockage and 17 (SD22) for facial pressure postoperatively versus 23(SD22) and 6(SD13) in non-allergic patients (p < 0.03 and p < 0.01). Patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) reported more trouble with snoring on VAS postoperatively than other patients, 42(SD28) versus 20(SD23) (p < 0.002). CONCLUSION: Septoplasty leads to a highly significant improvement in Qol and symptoms. The patients do not reach the same level of Qol as healthy controls. All symptoms are reported as mild on VAS postoperatively. Allergic patients tend to report more nasal blockage and facial pressure postoperatively than other patients and a focus on medical treatment should be kept also postoperatively. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea report more trouble with snoring postoperatively and alterative treatment options for snoring may be considered in these patients.

Paranasal sinus opacification at MRI in lower airway disease (the HUNT study-MRI).

The study builds on the concept of united airways, which describes the link between the upper and lower airways. Explorations of this concept have mainly related to asthma and less to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study was to investigate paranasal sinus opacification at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in COPD, self-reported asthma and respiratory symptoms. In this cross-sectional study, 880 randomly selected participants in the Nord-Trøndelag health survey (HUNT) (mean age 57.7 years, range 50-66 years, 463 women) were investigated using MRI of the paranasal sinuses. Participants were allocated to four mutually exclusive groups: (1) COPD (n = 20), (2) asthma (n = 89), (3) respiratory symptoms (n = 199), and (4) reference group (n = 572). Paranasal sinus opacifications were categorised as mucosal thickening, polyps and retention cysts, and fluid. In each participant, measurements ≥1 mm from all sinuses were summed to give a total for each category of opacities. The sums for these three categories were further added together, and referred to as the total sum. Using the 75th percentile cut-off values, the likelihood of having paranasal sinus opacifications was more than six times higher in participants with COPD and twice as high in participants with asthma than among the reference group. Respiratory symptoms were only associated with mucosal thickening. The present study shows that paranasal sinus opacification is associated not only with asthma, but also with COPD and respiratory symptoms. This is in accordance with the united airways hypothesis, and should be kept in mind when handling patients with these conditions.

An observational cohort study of the effects of septoplasty with or without inferior turbinate reduction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this observational study was to evaluate the outcomes of intranasal surgery in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a single institution in Norway. METHODS: Fifty-nine patients with OSA and clinically significant nasal obstruction underwent either septoplasty alone or septoplasty with concomitant volume reduction of the turbinates from August 2008 until the end of December 2010. Subjects were scheduled for sleep polygraphy before and 3 months after treatment. In this observational single-centre cohort study we evaluated and compared the effect of these two specific surgical procedures on sleep related parameters. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) only in the group that had septoplasty with turbinate reduction (17.4, (SD 14.4) - 11.7, (SD 8.2), p <0.01), and this effect was significantly better than in the group treated with septoplasty alone. Other objective parameters remained unchanged. Subjective assessments obtained with a postoperative questionnaire showed an equally positive effect on diurnal sleepiness and nasal obstruction in both groups, and a better effect on sleep quality in the combined treatment group. CONCLUSION: The effect of nasal surgery on obstructive sleep apnea seemed to be greater when there were indications for combined surgery of the inferior turbinates and the nasal septum, compared to when there were indications for septoplasty alone.

Incidental findings in MRI of the paranasal sinuses in adults: a population-based study (HUNT MRI).

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic imaging of the head is used with increasing frequency, and often includes the paranasal sinuses, where incidental opacifications are found. To determine the clinical relevance of such findings can be challenging, and for the patient such incidental findings can give rise to concern if they are over-reported. Studies of incidental findings in the paranasal sinuses have been conducted mostly in patients referred for diagnostic imaging, hence the prevalence in the general population is not known. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and size of incidental opacification in the paranasal sinuses in a non-selected adult population using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without medical indication, and to relate the results to sex and season. METHODS: Randomly and independent of medical history, 982 participants (518 women) with a mean age of 58.5 years (range, 50-66) underwent MRI of the head as part of a large public health survey in Norway. The MRIs included 3D T1 weighted volume data and 2D axial T2 weighted image (WI). Opacifications, indicating mucosal thickenings, polyps, retention cysts, or fluid, were recorded if measuring more than 1 mm. RESULTS: Opacifications were found in 66% of the participants. Mucosal thickenings were found in 49%, commonly in the maxillary sinuses (29%) where 25% had opacifications that were less than 4 mm in size. Other opacifications occurred in the anterior ethmoid (23%), posterior ethmoid (21%), frontal sinus (9%), and sphenoid (8%). Polyps and retention cysts were also found mainly in the maxillary sinuses in 32%. Fluid was observed in 6% of the MRIs. Mucosal thickening was observed more frequently in men than in women (P <0.05). No seasonal variation was found. CONCLUSIONS: In this large non-selected sample, incidental opacification in the paranasal sinuses was seen in two out of three participants, and mucosal thickening was seen in one out of two. Fluid was rare. Knowledge of incidental opacification is important because it can affect clinical practice.

[A young man with mononucleosis and swelling of the right eye]. / En ung mann med mononukleose og hevelse over høyre øye.

Treatment of acute infections in the upper airways comprises a significant part of direct healthcare expenditure and is a challenge for healthcare professionals. In Norway, 11,495 hospitalized days were recorded for acute infections (influenza and pneumonia excluded) in the upper airways in 2008. Acute bacterial rhinosinusitis (ABRS) is defined as inflammation of the nose and the paranasal sinuses characterized by both 1): symptoms of nasal blockage/obstruction/congestion or nasal discharge, and/or facial pain/pressure and 2): endoscopic signs of mucopurulent discharge from middle meatus and/or CT changes within the osteomeatal complex/sinuses. After 12 weeks of symptoms the definition changes to chronic rhinosinusitis. With antibiotic treatment of complicated ABRS we see fewer severe complications, but they still occur. Due to anatomical proximity of the orbit and intracranial structures a localized spread of the infection is especially unfortunate and potentially dangerous. We present a case report (with pan sinusitis and grave local complications) from the ear, nose and throat department in St. Olav's University Hospital in Trondheim, Norway.

Treatment of posttraumatic olfactory dysfunction with corticosteroids and olfactory training.

Background: Few have investigated long-term effect of treatment of posttraumatic olfactory dysfunction (OD).Aims/objectives: To explore if sequential treatment with corticosteroids and olfactory training (OT) improved smell in patients with OD after moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).Material and methods: Twenty-two patients with persistent OD, mean 62 months after trauma, completed an open uncontrolled intervention study of treatment for 10 d with oral corticosteroids and thereafter for 3 months with OT twice daily. Olfaction was assessed by Sniffin' Sticks. They were tested at four-time points, with the last assessment 12 months after baseline measurements.Results: Mean age at trauma was 45 (SD 14) years. Mean threshold, discrimination and identification (TDI) score at baseline was 14.4 (SD 7.3) and increased to mean 20.8 (SD 7.4) after 1 year (minimum -3.0; maximum 19.5, p value <.001). Analysed separately, each TDI component increased significantly after 1 year. Half of the patients (11/22) experienced a clinically significant improvement of ≥6.0 TDI points. Improvement was not associated with any sociodemographic or trauma-related characteristics or with olfactory function at baseline.Conclusions and significance: Treatment with corticosteroids and OT was promising in persistent OD after TBI and should be further studied.

Postoperative controls of ventilation tubes in children by general practitioner or otolaryngologist? Study protocol for a multicenter randomized non-inferiority study (The ConVenTu study).

BACKGROUND: Otitis media with effusion is the major cause of acquired hearing problems in children. Some of the affected children need surgery with ventilation tubes in the tympanic membrane to reduce ear complaints and to improve hearing, middle ear function, and health-related quality of life. This is one of the most common ambulatory surgeries performed on children. Postoperative controls are needed to assess that the tubes are functional, to evaluate whether hearing loss has been improved, and to handle potential complications. The follow-up may continue for years and are usually done by otolaryngologists. Nevertheless, there exist no evidence-based guidelines concerning the level of expertise needed for postoperative controls of the ventilation tubes. The aim of this protocol is to describe the ConVenTu study that evaluates whether postoperative controls performed by general practitioners (GPs) represent a safe and sufficient alternative to controls performed by otolaryngologists. METHODS/DESIGN: Multicenter randomized non-inferiority study conducted in clinical settings in seven hospitals located in Norway. Discharged children with ventilation tubes, aged 3-10 years, are allocated randomly to receive postoperative controls by either an otolaryngologist at the hospital where they had ventilation tube surgery or their regular GP. Study participants are enrolled consecutively until 200 patients are included in each group. Two years after surgery, we will compare the pure tone average of hearing thresholds (primary endpoint) and middle ear function, complication rate, health-related quality of life and the parents' evaluations of the postoperative care (secondary endpoints). DISCUSSION: This protocol describes the first randomized non-inferiority study of GPs performing postoperative controls after surgery with ventilation tubes. Results from this study may be utilized for deriving evidence-based clinical practice guidelines of the level of postoperative controls after ventilation tube surgery which is safe and sufficient. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02831985 . Registered on 13 July 2016.

Chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis; indicia of heterogeneity.

BACKGROUND: Nasal polyposis (NP) is considered to be a subgroup of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). However differences in cellular and mediator profiles suggest that they could be distinct entities. OBJECTIVE: To look for group differences in characteristics and symptom severity before and after surgery in patients suffering from CRS and bilateral NP that could clinically support the hypothesis that NP and CRS are different pathological processes and to compare the effect of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in CRS patients and NP patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-five patients with CRS and 57 patients with bilateral NP were included in this prospective trial. We used t-tests for independent groups to compare preoperative symptoms as recorded on visual analogue scale (VAS). To evaluate if there were differences in symptom improvement between the groups we used analysis of covariance. Categorical variables were compared using exact tests. RESULTS: Mean age was 38 years for the CRS group and 47 years for the NP group, the difference was significant (p = 0.0001). NP patients underwent significantly more posterior ethmoidectomies than patients suffering from CRS (p = 0.001), and asthma was significantly more prevalent in NP than in CRS (p = 0.007). Comparing preoperative symptoms as recorded on VAS we found significant differences. While patients with NP suffered significantly more from nasal blockage and change in their sense of smell than CRS patients, patients with CRS presented with more facial pain and headache. There were no differences in symptom improvement, as both conditions responded similarly to FESS. CONCLUSION: Differences in symptom severity, nasal endoscopy, age of patients and prevalence of asthma indicate that NP and CRS are different entities. Nevertheless, both conditions respond similarly to FESS.

Simulation of the upper airways in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and nasal obstruction: A novel finite element method.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the biomechanical properties of the soft palate and velopharynx in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and nasal obstruction. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective experimental study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two finite element (FE) models of the soft palate were created in six patients undergoing nasal surgery, one homogeneous model based on CT images, and one layered model based on soft tissue composition. The influence of anatomy on displacement caused by a gravitational load and closing pressure were evaluated in both models. The strains in the transverse and longitudinal direction were obtained for each patient. RESULTS: The individual anatomy influences both its structural stiffness and its gravitational displacement. The soft palate width was the sole anatomical parameter correlated to the critical closing pressure, but the maximal displacement due to gravity may have a relationship to closing pressure of possibly an exponential order. The airway occlusion occurred mainly at the lateral attachments of the soft palate. The total transverse strain showed a strong correlation with maximal closing pressure. There was no relationship between the critical closing pressure and the preoperative AHI levels, or the change in AHI after surgery. CONCLUSION: Hyperelastic FE models both in the homogeneous and layered model represent a novel method of evaluating soft tissue biomechanics of the upper airway. The obstruction occurs mainly at the level of the lateral attachments to the pharyngeal wall, and the width of the soft palate is an indicator of the degree of critical closing pressure. A less negative closing pressure corresponds to small total transverse strain. The effect of nasal surgery on OSA is most likely not explained by change in soft palate biomechanics. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA.

One-year results: palatal implants for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate long-term effectiveness of palatal implants for treatment of mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study of 26 referred patients with a pretreatment apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 10 to 30 and a body mass index of < or =30, representing an extended follow-up of a subset of 41 patients enrolled in previous short-term trials. RESULTS: Twenty-one of 26 patients (80.8%) experienced a decrease in AHI. Fifteen of 26 patients (57.7%) had a follow-up AHI <10 at 1 year, whereas 13 patients (50%) had a 50% or greater reduction to an AHI <10 at 1 year. Mean AHI was reduced from 16.5 +/- 4.5 at baseline to 12.5 +/- 10.5 at 3 months (P < 0.014) and to 12.3 +/- 12.7 at 1 year (P < 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: Patients initially responding to palatal implants with improved AHI maintained improvement through long-term follow-up at 1 year.