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. 2025 Jul 24.
doi: 10.5664/jcsm.11822. Online ahead of print.

Bilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation for obstructive sleep apnea: a nonrandomized clinical trial

B Tucker Woodson  1 , David T Kent  2 , Colin Huntley  3 , Melyssa K Hancock  4 , Douglas J Van Daele  5 , Maurits S Boon  3 , Tod C Huntley  6 , Sam Mickelson  7 , M Boyd Gillespie  8 , Maria V Suurna  9 , Ashutosh Kacker  10 , Asim Roy  11 , Stuart MacKay  12 , Kirk P Withrow  13 , Raj C Dedhia  14 , Phillip Huyett  15 , Clemens Heiser  16 , Sylvie di Nicola  17 , Fatima Makori  17 , Olivier M Vanderveken  18 , Tapan A Padyha  19 , Ulysses J Magalang  20 , Eugene Chio  21 , Eric J Kezirian  22 , Richard Lewis  23
Affiliations

Bilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation for obstructive sleep apnea: a nonrandomized clinical trial

B Tucker Woodson et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Study objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a novel bilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNSBL) device for the treatment of OSA.

Methods: Adult patients with moderate-to-severe OSA who refused, failed, or did not tolerate positive airway pressure therapy underwent implantation and nightly use of HNSBL. The co-primary endpoints at 12 months were 1) a minimum of 50% reduction in the 4% apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) from baseline with a final AHI of less than 20 events/h, and 2) a minimum of 25% reduction in the 4% oxygen desaturation index (ODI). Objective secondary endpoints included changes in mean AHI, ODI, and sleep time with blood oxygen saturation less than 90% (T90). Subjective secondary endpoints included changes in Epworth sleepiness score (ESS), the short Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ-10) score, the Symptoms of Nocturnal Obstruction and Related Events (SNORE-25) score, and bedpartner assessment of snoring.

Results: HNSBL was implanted in 113 participants. Eleven SAEs occurred in 10 (8.7%) participants. The co-primary endpoints were completed by 89 (77.4%) participants. AHI and ODI responses were achieved in 63.5% (73/115, p = 0.002) and 71.3% (82/115, p< 0.001), respectively. Secondary endpoint analysis revealed significant changes in mean AHI (-18.3±11.8 events/h, p<0.001), ODI (-17.7±14.6 events/h, p<0.001), and T90 (6.9±10.7%, p<0.001). Significant changes were observed in all secondary endpoints (p<0.001).

Conclusions: This pivotal clinical trial of HNSBL demonstrated an acceptable safety profile with clinically significant improvements in OSA severity and quality-of-life metrics. HNSBL is a promising new treatment option for select patients with OSA.

Clinical trial registration: Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; Name: Dual-sided Hypoglossal NeRvE StimulAtion for the TreatMent of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (DREAM); Identifier: NCT03868618; URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03868618.

Keywords: hypoglossal nerve stimulation; obstructive sleep apnea; sleep surgery.

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