Ricerc@Sapienza

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.