Intraoral acupuncture treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea with snoring: a case series

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the effects of acupuncture of the intraoral, head and neck regions in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Methods: Four patients diagnosed with OSA were treated with local acupuncture, including intraoral needling, to stimulate the upper airway dilator muscle. Clinical improvements were evaluated with the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI), obstructive apnoea-hypopnoea index (oAHI), snoring, and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) using a portable sleep monitoring device. Results: After 10 treatment sessions, all patients showed improvement in the AHI and oAHI, and most of the patients showed decreased ODI and snoring. Conclusions: These results suggest that acupuncture of the intraoral and head regions may be effective at improving the symptoms of OSA. Acupuncture treatment for OSA should be further investigated.