Effects of OroPharyngeal Exercises on Patients With Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea

April 15, 2008 updated by: University of Sao Paulo

Effects of OroPharyngeal Exercises on Patients With Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized, Controlled Study

Background: Upper airway muscle weakness plays an important role in the genesis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Oropharyngeal exercises are derived from speech therapy consisting of isometric and isotonic exercises directed to tongue, soft palate and lateral pharyngeal wall. We hypothesized that oropharyngeal exercises will attenuate OSA severity.

We will include 30 moderate OSA patients (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), between 15 and 30 events/hour) that will randomize to 3 months of general measurements and daily nasal lavage (n=15, control) or daily oropharyngeal exercises (~30 min) plus nasal lavage (n=16). Full polysomnography, anthropometric measurements, questionnaires derived from Berlin, Epworth and Pittsburgh evaluating quantitatively (range) snoring frequency (0-4) and intensity (1-3), daytime sleepiness (0-24) and sleep quality (0-21), respectively will be performed at baseline and study end.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Patients: Eligible patients aged between 25 e 65 years old with a recent diagnosis of moderate OSA evaluated in the sleep laboratory, Pulmonary Division, Heart Institute (InCor). We will exclude patients with one or more of the follow conditions: body mass index (BMI) >40 kg/m2; facial malformations; regular use of hypnotic medications, hypothyroidism, previous stroke, neuromuscular disease, heart failure, coronary disease, and severe obstructive nasal disease.

Polysomnography: All patients will be evaluated by full polysomnography. The person who analyzed the sleep study will be blind to the group allocation.

Questionnaire: We will employ questionnaires previously validated and used in Brazil: Snoring frequency (derived from the Berlin questionnaire); subjective daytime sleepiness (Epworth questionnaire); quality of sleep (Pittsburgh sleep quality questionnaire).

Control Group: Sham therapy will consisted of a weekly supervised section (~30 min) of deep breathing, through the nose, while sitting, followed by a practice of bilateral alternate chewing. The patients will be instructed to perform the same procedure at home once a day (30 min), plus alternate bilateral chewing and nasal lavage with application of 10 ml of saline in each nostril three times a day.

Study Group: The same schedule and set of instructions will be applied to the control group was given to these patients. Oropharyngeal exercises are derived from speech language pathology and include soft palate, tongue and facial muscles exercises as well as stomatognathic function exercises.

Experimental Design: After fulfilling entry criteria, the patients will be randomized for 3 months of control or treatment group, with oropharyngeal exercises. All patients will be evaluated by the speech language pathologist once a week for 30 minutes. Patients that failed to return for 3 consecutive weeks or failed to comply to the exercises schedule at home were excluded from the study. Polysomnography and questionnaires will be performed at the beginning and at the end of the study.

Primary outcome: Apnea-hypopnea index.

Secondary outcomes: Lowest oxygen saturation and sleep related questionnaires.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

30

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Sao Paulo, Brazil, 05403-904
        • Heart Institute (InCor)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

25 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged between 25 and 65 years old with a recent diagnosis of moderate obstructive sleep apnea

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Body mass index (BMI) >40 kg/m2
  • Facial malformations
  • Regular use of hypnotic medications
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Previous stroke
  • Neuromuscular disease
  • Heart failure
  • Coronary disease
  • Severe obstructive nasal disease

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Sham Comparator: 1
Control Group
Deep breathing, bilateral alternate chewing, nasal lavage
Active Comparator: 2
Therapy Group
Oropharyngeal exercises (derived from speech language pathology) to the soft palate, tongue and facial muscles exercises as well as stomatognathic functions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Apnea-hypopnea index
Time Frame: 3 months
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Sleep related questionnaires
Time Frame: 3 months
3 months
Lowest oxygen saturation
Time Frame: 3 months
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kátia Guimaraes, Heart Institute (InCor)
  • Principal Investigator: Geraldo Lorenzi-Filho, MD, PhD, Heart Institute (InCor)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

February 1, 2004

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 7, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 15, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

April 17, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 17, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 15, 2008

Last Verified

April 1, 2008

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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