TABLE 2.
Changes in the apnea–hypopnea index, white blood cell count, and serum concentration of inflammatory biomarkers after 3 months of oral appliance (OA) treatment in the active and passive groups
| Active OA, median (IQR) | Passive OA, median (IQR) | Effect size (95% CI)a | p b | Required sample sizec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AHI | −12 (−20, −8) | −2 (−12, 6) | 0.258 (0.153–0.390) | <.001 | 46 |
| ODI | −9.5 (−16.2, −5) | −1 (−10, 6) | 0.261 (0.155–0.396) | <.001 | 46 |
| WBCC | −0.40 (−0.62, 0.28) | −0.20 (−0.75, 0.30) | 0.502 (0.364–0.647) | .982 | 1,038,408 |
| hsCRP | −0.02 (−0.52, 0.26) | −0.01 (−0.69, 0.24) | 0.497 (0.353–0.634) | .963 | 259,602 |
| IL‐6 | 0.02 (−0.24, 0.41) | −0.06 (−0.37, 0.49) | 0.524 (0.370–0.663) | .737 | 4,710 |
| IL‐10 | 0.09 (−0.43, 0.58) | 0.08 (−0.39, 0.52) | 0.499 (0.356–0.642) | .989 | 2,738,028 |
| TNF‐α | 0.08 (−0.17, 0.23) | 0.04 (−0.13, 0.26) | 0.488 (0.356–0.626) | .865 | 18,644 |
AHI, apnea–hypopnea index; hsCRP, high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein; IL, interleukin; IQR, interquartile range (25th, 75th percentiles); OA, oral appliance; TNF, tumour necrosis factor; WBCC, white blood cell count
Values for IL‐6, IL‐10, and TNF‐α were missing in two, four, and one patients, respectively, in the passive group; and for IL‐10 in three patients in the active group
Effect size according to Vargha and Delaney (see Methods for details)
p value for the difference between active and passive groups in AHI and biomarker level change during treatment.
Required total sample size to detect a statistically significant difference based on the found effect size, power of 80%, and α = 0.05