Swiss medical weekly
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Habitual snoring, nocturnal apnea, and excessive daytime sleepiness are leading symptoms of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. However, simple snoring without apnea is a more common and normal phenomenon. In certain habitual snorers increased upper airway resistance during sleep may lead to sleep fragmentation and hypersomnolence even in the absence of frank apnea; this condition is termed upper airway resistance syndrome. ⋯ Weight loss, nocturnal application of continuous positive airway pressure, or intraoral appliances which hold the mandible in protrusion during sleep are non-surgical treatment options. According to the patients' subjective assessment conventional or laser-assisted uvulo-palato-pharyngoplasty (UPPP) has a high cure rate for snoring. However, objective documentation of the effect of these interventions on measured snoring noise is scant.