Effectiveness of drug-induced sleep endoscopy in improving patients selection and outcomes of mandibular advancement device therapy for obstructive sleep apnea: a multicenter case-control study

Purpose: To evaluate, in Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients, the use of pre-treatment drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) as a patient selection tool, that could improve the outcomes of mandibular advancement device (MAD) therapy. A multicenter retrospective case-control study has been performed. Methods: A multicenter case-control study with two parallel arms was conducted to compare functional outcomes in patients undergoing MAD therapy. Group A (n = 118) received MAD therapy based solely on static clinical assessments, including dentoskeletal features, oropharyngeal anatomy, and upper airway endoscopy. Group B (n = 87) underwent pre-treatment DISE to dynamically evaluate the site, type, and pattern of upper airway collapse, thereby guiding patient selection for MAD therapy. Results: In Group A, the mean pre-treatment apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 28.1, decreasing significantly to 12.4 post-treatment (p = 0.0001). In Group B, the mean AHI decreased from 31.3 to 9.5 (p = 0.0001). The Delta apnea-hypopnea index (ΔAHI) was significantly greater in Group B (−21.7) than in Group A (−16.6; p = 0.04). Similarly, the Delta Oxigen desaturation index (ΔODI) was −18.6 in Group B versus −14.1 in Group A (p = 0.04). The therapeutic success rate was significantly higher in Group B (82.7 %) compared to Group A (60.1 %) (p = 0.001). Conclusion: In OSA patients, a pre-treatment DISE evaluation, improves the selection of appropriate candidates for MAD therapy by enabling dynamic assessment of upper airway collapsibility during a pharmacologically induced sleep. This targeted selection results in significantly better therapeutic outcomes for MAD therapy for the OSA treatment.