Combined therapy boosts treatment efficacy for positional obstructive sleep apnea

The combination of eye mask sleep position therapy (SPT) and oral appliance therapy (OAT) demonstrated superior effectiveness in treating positional obstructive sleep apnea (POSA) when compared to either treatment alone, according to a study.

These findings suggest that the combined therapy could be a promising option for individuals seeking treatment for POSA.

In this randomized controlled trial, 60 patients diagnosed with POSA using standard polysomnography (PSG) were divided into 3 groups: SPT, OAT, and a combination of SPT and OAT (SOT), with an equal ratio of subjects in each group. Hospital-based follow-ups were conducted at the first and sixth months after the initiation of treatment.

After 6 months of treatment, the PSG results revealed that all 3 groups showed improvement in apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and oxygen-derived parameters. However, the group receiving the combined SPT and OAT treatment demonstrated a significantly greater decline in AHI compared to the groups receiving either SPT or OAT alone. The AHI decline was 71.58% for SOT, 44.42% for OAT, and 33.24% for SPT at the sixth month. Statistical analysis indicated significant differences between the SOT group and both the OAT and SPT groups (P = 0.018 and P < 0.001, respectively).

Reference
Huang W, Li C, Zou J, et al. Effects of the combination of novel eye mask sleep position therapy device and oral appliance on positional OSA: A multi-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Sleep Med. 2023;102:52-63. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2022.12.017. Epub 2022 Dec 29. PMID: 36599196.