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Objective: The course of sedation during drug‐induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) depends on the application pattern of the sedative drug. The depth of sedation should imitate light and deep sleep as well. Moreover, there should be as many breathing cycles as possible available for observation during light and deep sedation. The aim of the study was to evaluate different rates of propofol application with respect to the achieved depth and length of the course of sedation. Methods: Sixty‐three consecutive patients with obstructive sleep apnea and/or snoring undergoing DISE were randomly sedated by propofol perfusion at seven different application patterns: 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22 mg/kg/h (0.233, 0.267, 0.3, 0.317, 0.333, 0.367 mg/kg/min) per perfusor and individual bolus application 10 mg each. Sedation depth was monitored by BiSpectral Index™ (BIS). The influence of baseline parameters and the courses of sedation were analyzed. Results: The application rate was the only factor that influenced the depth of sedation. Basic parameters (gender, age, body mass index, apnea‐hypopnea index) had no influence on the depth of sedation. The sedation depth was dependent on the rate of propofol application. Regimes at 14 and 16 mg/kg/h as well as bolus application did not reach BIS levels below 50 representing deep sleep. Propofol doses of more than 20 mg/kg/h led to rapid decreases of sedation levels below deep sleep niveau. Propofol rates between 18 and 20 mg/kg/h enable BIS levels below 50 representing deep sleep and providing enough breathing cycles for observation. Conclusion: Lower application rates of propofol provide slower courses of sedation and shallower depths of sedation. A rate of 14 mg/kg/h might be appropriate to reach a sedation plateau at light sleep. A rate of 18 mg/kg/h leads to a sedation, corresponding to deep sleep. The combination of both rates might be a suitable pattern for performing sedation‐controlled DISE. Level of evidence: 2: Randomized trial.Establishment of a dose–response relationship between applied sedative and achieved sedation during sleep endoscopy. And proposal to perform a sedation‐depth guided sleep endoscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on potential limitations to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with head and neck tumours has not yet been adequately investigated. There are contradictory data on this subject. Data from larger patient collectives do not exist for Germany so far., Objective: The aim of the survey was to clarify in a large cohort whether the COVID-19 pandemic had an influence on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with head and neck tumours., Methods: A retrospective data analysis of the reporting data of the Clinical and Epidemiological Cancer Registry of Brandenburg and Berlin (Klinisch-epidemiologischen Krebsregisters Brandenburg-Berlin, KKRBB) of 4831 cases with head and neck tumours from 2018 to 2020 was performed. The period before April 01, 2020, was evaluated as a prepandemic cohort and compared with the cases of the pandemic cohort from April 1, 2020, until December 31, 2020, in terms of patient-related baseline data, tumour location, tumour stage, tumour board and treatments administered., Results: No differences were observed between the prepandemic and pandemic cohorts with regard to patient-related baseline data, tumour localisation and tumour stage. Likewise, no temporal delay in diagnosis, tumour board and treatment was evident during the pandemic period. On the contrary, the time interval between diagnosis and start of therapy was shortened by an average of 2.7 days in the pandemic phase. Tumours with T4 stage were more frequently treated surgically during the pandemic compared to the period before (20.8% vs. 29.6%), whereas primary radio(chemo)therapy decreased during the pandemic (53.3% vs. 40.4%). For all other tumour stages and entities, there were no differences in treatment., Conclusion: Contrary to initial speculation that the COVID-19 pandemic may have led to a decrease in tumour cases, larger tumour stages at initial presentation and a delay in diagnosis and treatment, the cohort studied for Brandenburg and Berlin showed neither a delay in tumour treatment nor an increase in tumour size and stage at initial presentation. The treatments performed, however, were subject to a change in favour of surgery and it remains to be seen whether this trend will be maintained in the long term., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Snoring occurs as a major symptom in patients with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). The aetiology of snoring remains still unclear despite various attempts to localize snoring. The correlation between different snoring sounds and the severity of SDB has not yet been investigated in a larger population. The aim of this study was to record and analyse snoring sounds and to correlate the obtained data with clinical and polysomnographical parameters. Sixty male patients with suspected SDB and reported snoring underwent a clinical examination and night time polysomnography. The parallel digitally recorded snoring sounds were analysed by fast fourier transformation (FFT). Peak intensity was determined from the power spectrum. The periodicity of snoring was classified into rhythmic and non-rhythmic snoring according to the presence of air flow interruptions due to obstructive apneas. Patients with primary snoring revealed peak intensities between 100 and 300 Hz. Patients with an obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) revealed peak intensities above 1,000 Hz. Polysomnographical data (AHI, mean and minimum SpO(2)) as well as body mass index (BMI) correlated with peak intensity of the power spectrum. None of the parameters of the clinical examination correlated with peak intensity. Frequency analysis of snoring sounds provides a useful diagnostic tool to distinguish between different patterns of snoring and respective SDB. The topodiagnosis of snoring is not possible by means of frequency analysis or clinical examination alone. Acoustical analysis of snoring sounds seems a promising additional diagnostic tool to verify different types of SDB in snoring patients.