Treatment of sleep apnoea syndrome

Abstract

Treatment of patients with sleep disordered breathing and especially sleep apnea syndrome, involves a multidisciplinary approach. In all cases, it is necessary to implement adequate hygiene and diet lifestyle, as a prerequisite for active therapy. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is the gold standard for therapy, and it is carried predominantly by internists and pulmonologist. Dentists-orthodontists are involved in cases where a specially designed oral proven applications enable opening the airway in the throat. They are applied on the basis of preliminary estimates of clinical benefit, after the NIV refusal of treatment by patients with normal BMI. Surgical methods are primarily related to ENT interventions on the structures of the soft palate and mouth, with correction of nasal patency, with the aim of solving the mechanical obstruction of air flow. Extensive maxillofacial surgery is performed with significant craniofacial abnormalities and it is very demanding procedure, therefore strictly selective. In severe cases, tracheostomy is an option for emergency treatment of vitally endangered patients resistant to NIV treatment, often with very high BMI. Medical therapy is still inefficient. It is actually more important today to draw attention to the patient what medications should not be used (particularly sedatives), because they can worsen the degree of apnea during sleep and further disrupt the architecture of sleep.