Static craniofacial measurements and dynamic airway collapse patterns associated with severe obstructive sleep apnoea: a sleep MRI study

ObjectivesUsing sleep MRI, we aimed to identify static craniofacial measurements and dynamic upper airway collapse patterns associated with severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) during natural sleep in age and BMI-matched patients. DesignNested case-control study. SettingSleep MRI images (3.0 Tesla scanner) and synchronised acoustic recording were used to observe patterns of dynamic airway collapse in subjects with mild and severe OSA. Midsagittal images were also used for static craniofacial measurements. ParticipantsFifteen male subjects with severe OSA (mean AHI 70.323 events/h) were matched by age and BMI to 15 subjects with mild OSA (mean AHI 7.81.4 events/h). Subjects were selected from a consecutive sleep MRI study cohort. Main outcome measuresStatic craniofacial measurements selected a priori included measurements that represent maxillomandibular relationships and airway morphology. Axial, sagittal and coronal views of the airway were rated for dynamic collapse at retropalatal, retroglossal and lateral pharyngeal wall regions by blinded reviewers. Bivariate analysis was used to correlate measures associated with severity of OSA using AHI. Statistical significance was set at P<0.01. ResultsLateral pharyngeal wall collapse from dynamic sleep MRI (=51.8, P<0.001) and upper airway length from static MRI images (=27.2, P<0.001) positively correlated with severity of OSA. ConclusionsLateral pharyngeal wall collapse and upper airway length are significantly associated with severe OSA based on sleep MRI. Assessment of these markers can be readily translated to routine clinical practice, and their identification may direct targeted surgical treatment.