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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The upper airway lumen is narrower in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) than normal subjects. In this study, we examined changes of the upper airway cross-sectional area in each phase of respiration in different degrees of severity of OSAS with dynamic CT and investigated whether these changes have any correlation with sleep apnea severity parameters, including polysomnography (PSG) and cephalometry.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between May and November 2004, 47 patients who had at least 2 of 3 major symptoms of snoring, daytime somnolence, and apnea with witness were included in this prospective study. As control group, 24 habitual snorers were studied. All patients underwent PSG and upper airway CT. The average number of episodes of apnea and hypopnea per hour of sleep (the apnea-hypopnea index, AHI) was calculated. An AHI …