Correlation analysis of standardized palatal sensory threshold with airway obstruction and hypoxia during sleep

Abstract

Objective: To study the correlation between the standardized palatal sensory threshold and airway obstruction and hypoxia during sleep, and to infer its role in the pathogenesis of OSAHS. Methods: From August 2016 to May 2017, 92 OSAHS patients as experimental group and 48 non-OSAHS volunteers as control group were recruited in Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to the Naval Medical University. The tactile sense was measured by Smmes-Weinstein Monofilaments in the middle of uvula and both side of hard palate,then the threshold of the uvula minus, the average threshold of the hard palate as the standardized palatal sensory threshold(SPST). The control point of both groups was located in the central underlip. Mann-Whitney U test for comparing two independent samplesand partial correlation analysis. Results: There was no difference in tactile threshold of underlip between the experimental group and the control group(0.020[0.008,0.020] g/mm(2) vs. [0.020(0.008,0.020] g/mm(2), Z=293.0, P=0.221); the tactile sense of the experimental group was larger than that of the control group in thehardpalate(0.040[0.140,0.055] g/mm(2) vs. 0.138[0.064,0.400] g/mm(2), Z=4.5, P=0.000), soft palate(0.400[0.280,0.400] g/mm(2) vs. 1.400[1.000,4.000] g/mm(2), Z=0, P=0.000) and SPST(0.355[0.125,0.373] g/mm(2) vs. 1.285[0.896,3.025] g/mm(2), Z=0, P=0.000). The SPST was positive correlation with apnea hypopneaindex(AHI)(r=0.835, P=0.000) and negative correlation with the nadir oxyhemoglobin saturation (r=-0.636, P=0.000). Conclusion: The greater the standardized palatal sensory threshold, the worse the condition of OSAHS, the lower, the lowest blood oxygen at night, and the impaired upper airway sensory function plays an important role in the pathogenesis of OSAHS.