Efficacy study of a vest-type device for positional therapy in position dependent snorers

This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of positional therapy using a recently developed vest-type device to treat snoring in positional-dependent snorers. Seventeen (60.7%) of the 28 subjects were diagnosed as position-dependent snorers with or without mild obstructive sleep apnea through laboratory nocturnal polysomnography and were included in a pre- and post-treatment comparative parallel study. The mean total snoring rate (from 36.7 ± 20.6% to 15.7 ± 16.2%, P < 0.0001) and snoring rate in the supine position (from 45.8 ± 22.8% to 25.4 ± 20.6%, P < 0.0001) decreased significantly with use of the vest. The mean percent change of total snoring rate between baseline and with the positional device was significant (63.5 ± 22.5%, P < 0.0001). Of the 17 subjects, 15 (88.2%) decreased their snoring rate more than 50% without subjective adverse effects. There were no significant differences in sleep efficiency, arousal index, and wake after sleep onset while sleeping with the vest-type positional device. In conclusion, positional therapy using the recently developed vest-type device is effective at decreasing snoring without subjective and objective adverse effects in position-dependent snorers with or without mild obstructive sleep apnea.