Radiofrequency tissue volume reduction of the soft palate in simple snoring.

BACKGROUND: Snoring is common and often associated with social morbidity. Current therapies are generally unsatisfactory, but radiofrequency tissue volume reduction (RFTVR) palatoplasty offers a new approach. OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes and morbidity associated with RFTVR palatoplasty. DESIGN: Open, prospective trial. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: 20 adults with loud habitual snoring without clinically significant obstructive sleep apnea. INTERVENTIONS: Three treatments with RFTVR to the middle, distal, and proximal thirds of the midline of the soft palate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical assessment (visual analog scores) before and after each treatment, polysomnography (with sound intensity measurements), and lateral cephalometry performed prior to the first treatment and 2 months following the final treatments. RESULTS: After treatment, there was a significant overall improvement in the snoring visual analog score (7.5+/-1.5 to 4.6+/-2.5; P<.001), a small reduction in the proportion of sleep spent snoring at 50 to 60 dB (P = .03), and mild pain that was controlled with simple analgesia. There were no long-term adverse effects. Individual response could not be predicted by demographic, polysomnographic, or cephalometric data. Treatment of the proximal third of the soft palate was associated with fewer adverse effects but also seemed less effective than at the other sites. CONCLUSIONS: (1) The RFTVR palatoplasty is well tolerated with very low morbidity. (2) It is associated with subjective improvement in snoring in most patients. (3) Placement of lesions seems to influence outcome. (4) The improvement is accompanied by a marginal change in objective measurements, suggesting either an acoustic change independent of sound intensity or a placebo effect. (5) A randomized controlled trial is needed to further evaluate this therapy.

Epidemiology of burns due to domestic flammable agents.

An analysis of the epidemiological factors relating to domestic flammable agents has shown that 17.7 per cent of admissions over a 5-year period were involved in domestic flammable injuries; 87.7 per cent of the patients were male, with 38.9 per cent being young males between 12 and 19 years old. Petrol and diesel accounted for 56.8 per cent of the burns and the average body surface area burned was 17.7 per cent. Most commonly the face, hands and limbs were burned, and the average length of stay was 18.25 days, 69.2 per cent of the burns were due to human error and were thus potentially preventable, 21.2 per cent had predisposing conditions with 8.9 per cent being due to alcohol. It was considered that the strategies to prevent these burns injuries should be aimed particularly at young males.