CEPHALOMETRIC COMPARISON OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS

Dr. Mudasir Khan, Dr. Nazia Lone and Dr. Ifzah Usman*

ABSTRACT

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition which induces an unnatural and unusual increase in upper-airway resistance. Lateral cephalography is a useful tool to evaluate skeletal and soft tissue characteristics of patients with OSA. This study was undertaken to compare the cephalometric characteristics of OSA patients with healthy subjects and determine possible relationships between cephalometric measurements of OSA patients and control subjects. METHOD: 18 OSA patients (10 men and 8 women) with age range from 20 to 55 years and 18 healthy subjects (10 men and 8 women) with age range from 30 to 57 years were selected for this study. Standardized lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken for patients in both the groups. RESULTS: SNA, SNB, and mandibular plane angles (Go-Gn-SN), anterior and posterior facial heights, and postero-anterior face height ratio were similar in both groups (P>.05). The distance between the hyoid and mandible was significantly greater in the OSA group than in the control group. DISCUSSION: In OSA patients, the hyoid bone was more inferiorly placed. OSA patients had reduced midface length which may cause a reduction of space available for the airway. The choice for the cephalometric analysis used in this study was due to its large use in radiological and orthodontic clinics and for it embraces measures in all regions susceptible to obstruction.

Keywords: Cephalography, postero-anterior.