Sleep endoscopy as a complementary diagnostic method for snoring and sleep apnea

ABSTRACT Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by complete or incomplete and recurrent upper airway collapse induced by sleep. Several diagnostic methods for obstructive sleep apnea are used, but only sleep endoscopy allows an endoscopic assessment of pharyngeal collapse during sedation. It is essential to carry out sleep endoscopy following a systematic institutional protocol, in preestablished stages, to ensure better reproducibility and reliability of the results found. Sleep endoscopy has few limitations and is a safe test, with a low risk of complications.

摘要 阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（obstructive sleep apnea, OSA）是一类以睡眠诱发的上气道反复出现完全或不完全塌陷为特征的疾病。目前针对阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停已有多种诊断方法，但唯有睡眠内镜检查（sleep endoscopy）可在镇静状态下对咽部塌陷情况开展内镜评估。遵循系统化的机构操作流程，并按预设步骤实施该项检查，对于保障所得检测结果具备更优的可重复性与可靠性至关重要。睡眠内镜检查局限性较少，属于安全性较高的检查项目，并发症发生风险较低。