Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Diagnosis in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients Using the Pepsin Salivary Test

Giannicola Iannella, Claudio Vicini, Antonella Polimeni, Antonio Greco, Riccardo Gobbi, Filippo Montevecchi, Andrea De Vito, Giuseppe Meccariello, Giovanni Cammaroto, Giovanni D’Agostino, Annalisa Pace, Raffaella Cascella, Marco Brunori, Cristina Anna Maria Lo Iacono, Stefano Pelucchi and Giuseppe Magliulo
Additional contact information
Giannicola Iannella: Department of ‘Organi di Senso’, University “Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università 33, 00161 Rome, Italy
Claudio Vicini: Department of Head-Neck Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head-Neck and Oral Surgery Unit, Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital, Via Carlo Forlanini, 34, 47121 Forlì, Italy
Antonella Polimeni: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, University “Sapienza”, Via Caserta, 6, 00161 Rome, Italy
Antonio Greco: Department of ‘Organi di Senso’, University “Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università 33, 00161 Rome, Italy
Riccardo Gobbi: Department of Head-Neck Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head-Neck and Oral Surgery Unit, Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital, Via Carlo Forlanini, 34, 47121 Forlì, Italy
Filippo Montevecchi: Department of Head-Neck Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head-Neck and Oral Surgery Unit, Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital, Via Carlo Forlanini, 34, 47121 Forlì, Italy
Andrea De Vito: Department of Head-Neck Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head-Neck and Oral Surgery Unit, Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital, Via Carlo Forlanini, 34, 47121 Forlì, Italy
Giuseppe Meccariello: Department of Head-Neck Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head-Neck and Oral Surgery Unit, Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital, Via Carlo Forlanini, 34, 47121 Forlì, Italy
Giovanni Cammaroto: Department of Head-Neck Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head-Neck and Oral Surgery Unit, Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital, Via Carlo Forlanini, 34, 47121 Forlì, Italy
Giovanni D’Agostino: Department of Head-Neck Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head-Neck and Oral Surgery Unit, Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital, Via Carlo Forlanini, 34, 47121 Forlì, Italy
Annalisa Pace: Department of ‘Organi di Senso’, University “Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università 33, 00161 Rome, Italy
Raffaella Cascella: Department of ‘Organi di Senso’, University “Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università 33, 00161 Rome, Italy
Marco Brunori: Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Nephrologic, Anaesthesiologic and Geriatric Sciences, Sapienza University, Viale dell’Università 33, 00161 Rome, Italy
Cristina Anna Maria Lo Iacono: Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Nephrologic, Anaesthesiologic and Geriatric Sciences, Sapienza University, Viale dell’Università 33, 00161 Rome, Italy
Stefano Pelucchi: Department ENT and Audiology, University of Ferrara, Via Aldo Moro, 8, 44124 Ferrara, Italy
Giuseppe Magliulo: Department of ‘Organi di Senso’, University “Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università 33, 00161 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: Background: To investigate the presence of laryngopharyngeal reflux in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) employing the salivary pepsin concentration method. To compare the results of pepsin concentration with the severity of the pathology. Methods: Seventy-five OSA patients (44 males, 31 females) were enrolled in the study. For each patient, the AHI (apnea–hypopnea index) and the BMI (body mass index) were initially evaluated. All the patients enrolled were assessed using the reflux symptom index (RSI) and the reflux finding score (RFS) in order to perform a clinical diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux. In all patients a salivary sample was taken to estimate the presence of pepsin and its concentration. Results: The incidence of LPR (laryngopharyngeal reflux) in OSA patients, evaluated using the salivary pepsin concentration test (PEP-test), was found to be 32% of cases. Linear regression testing did not show any correlation between AHI and pepsin concentration in salivary samples ( p = 0.1). Conclusion: A high number of patients with OSA seem to show positivity for salivary pepsin, correlated to an LPR. There does not appear to be a correlation between the severity of apnea and the grade of salivary pepsin reflux. On the other hand, direct correlation between BMI and the value of pepsin in salivary specimens was observed.

Keywords: laryngopharyngeal reflux; obstructive sleep apnea; Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome; PEP-test (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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