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Volume 83
Issue 2
10.5603/PiAP.2015.0022
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Advances in Respiratory Medicine is published by MDPI from Volume 90 Issue 4 (2022). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Via Medica.
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Case Report

“Saw-Tooth Sign” in Upper Airway Disorders—A Case Report

by
Sonu Sahni
1,
Alexander Blood
2,
Santhosh Paulus
3 and
Arunabh Talwar
1,*
1
North Shore—Long Island Jewish Health System, Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, New York, NY 11040, USA
2
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, New York, NY 11040, USA
3
Glen Cove Hospital, Department of Family Medicine, New York, NY 11040, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Adv. Respir. Med. 2015, 83(2), 140-143; https://doi.org/10.5603/PiAP.2015.0022
Submission received: 7 July 2014 / Revised: 10 March 2015 / Accepted: 10 March 2015 / Published: 10 March 2015

Abstract

Spirometry flow-volume loop measurement is the screening test of choice to rule out obstructive lung diseases. Flow oscillations occasionally seen on flow volume loops, referred to as a “saw-tooth” sign, are thought to be due to an upper airway obstructive processes associated with upper airway collapsibility. Widely described in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, flow oscillations have also been linked to many other upper airway pathologies. The mechanism by which flow oscillations occur is centered on the inspiratory and expiratory flow of air. It has been theorized that the mechanism of flow oscillations result from rapid intermittent changes in driving pressure or airway resistance. Since visual inspection of the flow volume loop can reveal presence of flow oscillations clinicians should be aware of this phenomenon and the presence of flow loop oscillations should clue physicians to rule out upper airway pathology.
Keywords: saw tooth sign; flow oscillations; spirometry; obstructive sleep apnea; upper airway disorder saw tooth sign; flow oscillations; spirometry; obstructive sleep apnea; upper airway disorder

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sahni, S.; Blood, A.; Paulus, S.; Talwar, A. “Saw-Tooth Sign” in Upper Airway Disorders—A Case Report. Adv. Respir. Med. 2015, 83, 140-143. https://doi.org/10.5603/PiAP.2015.0022

AMA Style

Sahni S, Blood A, Paulus S, Talwar A. “Saw-Tooth Sign” in Upper Airway Disorders—A Case Report. Advances in Respiratory Medicine. 2015; 83(2):140-143. https://doi.org/10.5603/PiAP.2015.0022

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sahni, Sonu, Alexander Blood, Santhosh Paulus, and Arunabh Talwar. 2015. "“Saw-Tooth Sign” in Upper Airway Disorders—A Case Report" Advances in Respiratory Medicine 83, no. 2: 140-143. https://doi.org/10.5603/PiAP.2015.0022

APA Style

Sahni, S., Blood, A., Paulus, S., & Talwar, A. (2015). “Saw-Tooth Sign” in Upper Airway Disorders—A Case Report. Advances in Respiratory Medicine, 83(2), 140-143. https://doi.org/10.5603/PiAP.2015.0022

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