Combination of Bernouilli effect producing maneuver-induced pharyngeal narrowing rate with body mass index as predictive tool for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Conclusions: It is suggested that the combination of the pharyngeal narrowing rate during the Bernouilli effect producing maneuver (BEPM) with the body mass index (BMI) might be a promising predictive method for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).

Objectives: An attempt was made to clarify the possibility that the dynamic narrowing of the pharynx evaluated by nasopharyngoscopy with BEPM, a forced inspiration through the nose with the mouth closed, might be a reliable clinical daytime predictor for identifying patients at risk of developing OSAS.

Subjects And Methods: Subjects were 57 patients complaining of snoring and sleepiness during daytime.

Endoscopic evaluation of dynamic narrowing of the pharynx by the Bernouilli effect producing maneuver in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Objective: To evaluate the dynamic narrowing of the retropalatal pharynx by the Bernouilli effect producing maneuver (BEPM) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) with computer-assisted analysis of nasopharyngoscopic images.

Methods: Endoscopic images of the retropalatal pharynx were obtained and their area was measured by NIH imaging. Because changes in distance between the CCD camera of the nasopharyngoscope and the site of pharyngeal narrowing decreased the measurement reliability, the area of the retropalatal pharynx was divided by the square of the uvula's lateral side length for normalization.