Correlation between nasopharyngoscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in locating the upper airway obstruction plane in male obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients

The objective of the study was to investigate the correlation and consistency between nasopharyngoscopy (NP) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in locating the obstruction planes in obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients with different pathogenetic conditions. Anatomical examination of the upper airway was performed in OSAHS patients [including 32 mild cases (MI), 31 moderate cases (MO), and 30 severe cases (SE)] by NP and MRI. The differences between the three groups were analyzed to compare the correlation and consistency between the two examination methods. There were statistically significant differences in the collapse degree, cross-sectional area, left–right diameter, and anteroposterior diameter of the soft palate region, retroglossal region, and post-epiglottic region, as well as in the total thickness of the posterior epiglottic lateral wall. There was a positive correlation between the collapse degree and the cross-sectional area in Group MI, while a negative correlation was found in Group MO. There was a statistically significant difference in the kappa value of the posterior epiglottic obstruction plane of Group SE between the examination methods (kappa = 0.39, p = 0.007). Nasopharyngoscopy and MRI can depict soft tissue compliance and anatomical features of the upper airway in OSAHS patients, though they lack good correlation and consistency in locating the obstruction plane.