Treatment Options

Conservative Management

Mainstay is the lifestyle modification. Researches have shown that weight reduction is associated with improvement in AHI. So, exercising, dietary modifications helps in reducing weight thereby reducing the symptoms significantly. In severe obesity one may have to undergo bariatric surgery.

Avoiding alcohol and other sedatives may help to some extent.

Approximately 50% of the patients have positional component, which means symptoms are worse at a particular position . In this case symptoms worsens on lying supine.

Oral Appliances

These are the devices, which are kept in mouth, and they help in preventing the airway from collapsing. They are generally tongue retaining devices or mandible advancement devices. Mandible advancement devices are more effective than tongue retaining.

Positive Airway pressure

Positive Airway pressure therapy delivers positive pressure to airway with the help of sealed mask so as to prevent the collapse of airway.

These can be manual devices or they can be automated.

Manual devices provides fixed positive pressure but in automated the pressures are titrated with each breath.

The standard form is fixed CPAP. Now there are modifications like Bilevel PAP.

The disadvantage of these devices is the issue of patient compliance. For the CPAP to be effective, it has to be used daily at night during the entire sleep.