Use of Muller's maneuver in the evaluation of patients with sleep apnea: literature review

Abstract

Sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome was described twenty years ago, and since then there have been doubts and controversies regarding it. Fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy with Muller's maneuver, first described by Borowieck and Sassin (1983), is among them. AIM: Careful literature review on Muller's maneuver, regarding whether it can predict the sucess of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, location of upper airway obstruction and severity of the disorder. DISCUSSION AND LITERATURE REWIEW: Literature has shown that there isn't a consensus about the use of Muller's maneuver. In spite of being technically easy, inexpensive and widely used, it is very unespecific and subjective. CONCLUSION: The importance of Muller's maneuver in evaluating apneic patients has been questioned, because there are controversies whether it can predict the sucess of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, location of upper airway obstruction and severity of the disease.