Treatment of Snoring with a Nasopharyngeal Airway Tube

Table 1

Soft polyvinyl chloride nasopharyngeal airway tube sizes and insertion results.

NPAT sizes (Fr)	Length	Outer diameter	Ability to be inserted	Hours tolerated during sleep	Outcomes from insertion and use during sleep
36	180 mm	12.0 mm	N	NA	Tube kept hitting the inferior turbinate and could not pass.
30	165 mm	10.0 mm	Y	2.5	Tolerated insertion for 2.5 hours and removed tube due to pain.; Smartphone app: 0 snores. Bedpartner: 0/10 VAS.
28	155 mm	9.3 mm	Y	0.75	Tolerated insertion for 0.75 hours and removed tube due to pain.; Smartphone app: 0 snores. Bedpartner: 0/10 VAS.
26	140 mm	8.7 mm	Y	4.2	Tolerated insertion 4.2 hours and snored during sleep.; Smartphone app: 11.4 snores per hour.; Bedpartner: 2/10 VAS.
24	130 mm	8.0 mm	Y	NA	Tube was easily inserted, however, was too short to stop simulated snoring, and therefore was not used overnight.

(Note: manufacturer is Teleflex; dimensions are also available at http://www.teleflex.com/.) Fr = French; NPAT = nasopharyngeal airway tube; NA = not applicable; and VAS = visual analog scale (0 = no snoring, 10 = snoring that could be heard through a closed door and significantly interrupted the bedpartner’s sleep).