P097 The Fate of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Long-term

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the relationships of the severity of OSA and the long-term results of OSA in untreated patients and to compare them with the results of OSA patients who were operated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study retrospectively analyzed medical records of 79 individuals who were diagnosed with OSA, who either underwent surgical treatment or received no treatment from 2009 to 2022. Among the patients who underwent polysomnography (PSG) twice, the patients were subdivided by mild, moderate, severe groups according to apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and the changes in OSA severity over time were compared. RESULTS: This study included 43 patients (54%) who received no treatment and 36 patients (46%) who had undergone surgery including tonsillectomy with or without uvula or palatopharyngeal procedures. Among the untreated patients, there was no significant changes in AHI values over time for the overall group, the mild and severe subgroups, but the moderate group showed a significant increase in AHI values (p=0.017). Surgical treatment, specifically tonsillectomy, resulted in a significant decrease in AHI values compared to untreated patients, particularly within 36 months after the procedure (p=0.000). However, for patients with a follow-up period of more than 36 months, the difference in AHI values was not statistically significant between those who underwent tonsillectomy and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Untreated moderate OSA patients show worsening of AHI values over time, highlighting the need for proactive treatment. Surgical intervention can reduce AHI values within 36 months but may lead to worsening of symptoms afterwards.