Development and validation of an oropharyngeal obstruction evaluation score

To identify standard clinical parameters that can predict the presence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea.

Adult patients with habitual snoring completed comprehensive polysomnography and anthropometric measurements, including sex, age, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, tonsil size grading, modified Mallampati score, and nasofibroscopy-assisted Muller’s maneuver (NMM). Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to screen the significant variables. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was then conducted to identify the independent variables. receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to quantify the predictability of the formed oropharyngeal obstruction scoring system.

A total of 163 adults (127 men) were enrolled in the study. Tonsil size grading, modified Mallampati score, and NMM grading maneuver were predictive of  OSA and incorporated into a scoring system. This score ranged between 3 and 12, and threshold values of ≥ 8 and ≥ 9 seemed to be appropriate to identify patients at an increased risk of at least mild (AHI ≥ 5/h; AUROC = 0.935, 95%CI = 0.900–0.970, P < 0.001) and severe OSA (AHI ≥ 30/h; AUROC = 0.939, 95%CI = 0.899–0.969, P < 0.001), respectively.

This study established an evaluation score for assessing the degree of oropharhygeal obstruction. The findings of the study suggest that the score may help identify patients at risk of oropharyngeal-related OSA who should have a full sleep evaluation.