The impact of intranasal fluticasone on patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a prospective study

INTRODUCTION: Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea, which is caused by complete or partial obstructions of the upper airway. Nasal obstruction is also considered as one of the independent risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea. OBJECTIVE: Patients with obstructive sleep apnea. METHODS: We enrolled patients with obstructive sleep apnea from June to December 2015 and treated them with intranasal corticosteroid spray for four weeks. Several parameters were obtained before and after the treatment, including Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scores, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire and Epworth Sleepiness Scale questionnaire. RESULTS: Fifty patients completed questionnaires prior to and following the intranasal fluticasone treatments. The average age was 39.7 ± 15.6 y, with a male to female ratio of 3:2. The post-treatment Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scores all indicated a decrease compared to pre-treatment scores, from 10.4 to 8.74, 7.86 to 6.66 and 9.08 to 6.48, respectively. A significant decrease was observed in the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation ≥10 group in all three categories, but not in the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation <10 group. CONCLUSIONS: Intranasal fluticasone treatment may be useful for patients with nasal obstruction-related obstructive sleep apnea to improve sleep quality and limit daytime dysfunction.