Efficacy of titratable mandibular advancement device versus continuous positive airway pressure therapy in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea: A clinical crossover trial.

BACKGROUND: To compare efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and oral appliance (OA) in management of various grades of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

METHODS: Thirty polysomnography diagnosed cases of OSA were divided into three groups based on baseline apnea hypopnea index (AHI) as follows: group 1: mild OSA (AHI = 5-14.9), group 2: moderate OSA (AHI = 15-29.9), and group 3: severe OSA (AHI >30) with 10 patients in each group. Half of the patients in each group were randomly allocated to CPAP or OA therapy, and crossover of therapy was performed after two months. AHI, Epworth's Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and mean oxygen saturation (SPO2) were measured at baseline, after each arm of treatment and after the crossover. A questionnaire survey including information regarding pretreatment sleep symptoms and improvement after therapy was performed at above time frames. At the end of therapy, the patients were surveyed regarding satisfaction and perceived effectiveness with both modalities.

RESULTS: CPAP was more efficacious in reducing AHI and SPO2 as compared with OA across the three study groups. The improvement in most sleep-related symptoms was higher with CPAP. The satisfaction and perception on effectiveness of treatment were higher with OA than CPAP across three study groups (P-value<0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONS: OA is an effective alternative to CPAP across all grades of OSA in selected cases, which is more preferred owing to higher effectiveness and satisfaction among the patients.