A suggested clinical score to predict the severity of adenoid obstruction in children

Chronic nasal obstruction in children is a very common disorder. Obstructing adenoid is usually the first to blame. Though the clinical assessment is essential, it is often considered unreliable or insufficient. We conducted a prospective clinical study to validate a clinical score predicting the severity of adenoid obstruction in symptomatic children. The clinical score (CS) included mouth breathing, snoring, restless sleep, frequent waking-up at night and obstructive breathing during sleep. Each item received a score of 0 or 1. The palatal airway was evaluated on a lateral nasopharyngeal x-ray. The degree of obstruction was assessed intra-operatively by a laryngeal mirror using a 3-grade scale. The volume of each adenoid specimen was measured. Eighty-six patients were enrolled, 51 boys and 35 girls, aged 13–181 months (mean 52, median 45). The CS correlated very well with the intra-operative findings (p < 0.01) and with the degree of palatal airway obstruction (p < 0.05) but not with the volume of the adenoid removed (p > 0.05). The CS was higher in children younger than 3 years (CS > 3 in 85.7% vs. 29.2%), having more frequent obstructive breathing during sleep (71.43% vs. 21.54%). A CS of three or higher, predicted severe obstruction in 96.5% of patients, as detected intra-operatively. The suggested CS is simple to use and is highly reliable in identifying children in need for adenoidectomy, in the context of normal anterior rhinoscopy and tonsils less than grade three.This work was presented at the podium of the XVIII IFOS in Rome, Italy on June 26, 2005.     

Self-reported snoring is associated with chronic kidney disease in obese but not in normal-weight Chinese adults

BackgroundThe relationship between sleeping disorders and chronic kidney disease (CKD) has already been reported. Snoring, a common clinical manifestation of obstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome, is of clinical value in assessing sleeping disorder severity. However, investigations of the connection between snoring and CKD are limited, especially in normal-weight populations. This study assessed the relationship between snoring frequency and CKD in obese and normal-weight people in China.MethodsA community-based retrospective cross-sectional study of 3250 participants was performed. Study participants were divided into three groups – the regularly snoring group, occasionally snoring group, and never snoring group – based on their self-reported snoring frequency. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m². Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relevance between snoring frequency and CKD prevalence.ResultsThe CKD prevalence in obese participants was higher than that in normal-weight participants. Frequent snorers had a higher prevalence of CKD than those who were not frequent snorers in the obese group. Snoring frequency was correlated with CKD prevalence in obese participants independent of age, sex, smoking and drinking status, systolic blood pressure, triglyceride level, high-density lipoprotein, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (odds ratio: 2.66; 95% CI: 1.36–5.19; p=.004), while the same relationships did not exist in normal-weight participants (odds ratio: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.32–1.98; p=.614).ConclusionsSnoring appears to be independently associated with CKD in obese but not in normal-weight Chinese adults.     

鼾症手术的探讨

目的 探讨鼾症的常规的悬雍垂腭咽成形术（Ｕｖｕｌｐａｌａ ｔｏｐｈａｒｙｎｇｏｐｌａｓｔｙ ＵＰＰＰ）与激光悬雍垂腭咽成形术（Ｌａｓｅｒ Ｕｖｕｌｏｐａｌａｔｏｐｈａｒｙｎｇｏｐａｓｔｙ,ＬＵＰＰＰ）的优缺点。方法 ＵＰＰＰ加半导体激光或ＣＯ２及ＹＡＧ手术。结果 综合术式共治４０例,随访１年以上,总有效９５％,显效１８例（４５％）,好转２０例（５０％）无效２例（５％）。结论 传统ＵＰＰＰ和ＬＵＰＰ     

Is sleep-disordered breathing an independent risk factor for hypertension in the general population (13,057 subjects)?

Objective: Sleep-disordered breathing has been hypothesized to have a close relationship with hypertension but previous studies have reported mixed results. This is an important health issue that requires further clarification because of the potential impact on the prevention and control of hypertension.Methods: The relationship between hypertension and three forms of sleep-disordered breathing (chronic snoring, breathing pauses and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)) was assessed using representative samples of the non-institutionalized population of the UK, Germany and Italy (159 million inhabitants). The samples were comprised of 13,057 individuals aged 15–100 years who were interviewed about their sleeping habits and their sleep symptoms over the telephone using the Sleep-EVAL system.Results: OSAS was found in 1.9% (95% CI: 1.2% to 2.3%) of the UK sample, 1.8% (95% CI: 1.4% to 2.2%) of the German sample and 1.1% (95% CI: 0.8% to 1.4%) of the Italian sample. OSAS was an independent risk factor (odds ratio (OR): 9.7) for hypertension after controlling for possible confounding effects of age, gender, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, life stress, and, heart and renal disease.Conclusions: Results from three of the most populated countries in Western Europe indicate that OSAS is an independent risk factor for hypertension. Snoring and breathing pauses during sleep appeared to be non-significant predictive factors.     

High frequency region of the snore spectra carry important information on the disease of sleep apnoea

Snoring is the most common symptom of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Several researchers have reported differences between the power spectra of non-OSA and OSA snorers. The traditional approach over the years has been to record snore sounds at a bandwidth of < 5 kHz. Narrowing of the upper airways during OSA events and the resulting upward shift of snore frequencies also lend support to the idea of examining snore sounds beyond 5 kHz. In this paper, we compute the power spectra of snores in three different bands defined as: low-frequency band (LFB: < 5 kHz); middle-frequency band (MFB: 5–10?kHz) and high-frequency band (HFB: 10–20 kHz). We illustrate that there is a significant difference between non-OSA snorers (Apnoea Hypopnoea Index (AHI) < 10) and OSA snorers (AHI > 10) in the region > 5?kHz. We then develop a feature to diagnose OSA based on the spectral differences in the high frequency region and evaluate its performance on a database of 20 subjects. Our results strongly suggest that the high-frequency region of the snore sounds carry information, hitherto disregarded, on the disease of sleep apnoea.     

Psychological screening for the children with habitual snoring

ObjectivesAdenotonsillar hypertrophy is the major determinants of habitual snoring in pediatric population. Behavioral hyperactivity and schooling problems have been repeatedly reported in these children, and it may underlie more extensive behavioral disturbances, particularly for the obese children. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of emotional and behavioral problems using outpatient-based psychological screening tools in the children with habitual snoring.MethodsTotal 235 patients and 170 controls, who aged 4–9 years were enrolled. Body mass index (BMI) z-score was obtained for age and gender and parental sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) questionnaire was used to assess severity of sleep-disordered breathing (SBD). Psychological assessment was performed using standardized questionnaires including Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED).ResultsChildren presenting habitual snoring had significantly higher mean scores on almost all scales of SDQ, and SCARED than community controls. Around 20% of the children with habitual snoring, compared with 10–11% of controls had significant levels of distress that could adversely impact treatment outcomes. There was no interaction between obstructive sleep apnea severity and behavioral ratings. The scores for emotional distress and hyperactivity were more prominent in the obese children. Significant psychological distress or impairment in social interactions was observed in children with higher SRBD scores.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the presence of habitual snoring in young children is associated wide spectrum of behavioral problems and the level of psychological distress might be evaluated at the time of the diagnosis.     

Frequency of snoring,rather than apnea–hypopnea index,predicts both cognitive and behavioral problems in young children

ObjectivePrimary snoring (PS) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) not only affect the quality of sleep in a large number of young children, but have also been repeatedly associated with a variety of behavioral and cognitive problems. However, little is known about the potentially differing relationships of behavioral and cognitive pathology within the sleep disordered breathing (SDB) spectrum.MethodThis study examined data from an enriched for snoring community sample of 631 children aged between 4 and 10 years. Multivariate mixed models were used to assess the relationship between both snoring and the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI). Numerous cognitive and behavioral variables were used, while adjusting for several important demographic variables. These were followed by univariate analyses of individual measures and sensitivity analyses.ResultsResults indicated that snoring status is a significant predictor of general behavioral (p = 0.008) and cognitive (p = 0.013) domains, even after adjusting for baseline covariates and AHI severity. More frequent snoring was associated with poorer outcomes independent of AHI. However, AHI did not emerge as a significant predictor of the overall cognitive functioning domain (p = 0.377). Additionally, although AHI was a significant predictor of the general behavioral functioning domain (p = 0.008), the significance pattern and nature of its relationship with individual behavioral measures were inconsistent in post-hoc analyses.ConclusionThe findings of this study suggest that general behavioral and cognitive function may decline with greater snoring severity. Further, snoring should not simply be assumed to represent a lower severity level of SDB, but should be examined as a potential predictor of relevant outcomes.     

长春市20岁以上人群阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停低通气综合征流行病学现况调查

目的调查长春市20岁以上居民阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停低通气综合征（OSAHS）的患病状况，为该病的防治提供依据。方法采用分层整群随机抽样的方法，选择长春市朝阳区和绿园区部分20岁以上常驻居民3960名为调查对象，进行入户调查，从打鼾≥2级者中随机抽样200名，行整夜睡眠呼吸监测，估算人群OSAHS的患病状况。结果有效问卷3648份（有效率97．64％），≥2级打鼾为31．00％，男性（40．07％）高于女性（21．76％）；不同职业中，司机组最高（42．47％）。以睡眠呼吸暂停低通气指数（AHI）≥5次／h加Epworth嗜睡量表（ESS）评分≥9分、夜间最低血氧饱和度〈90％为标准，估算人群OSAHS的患病率为4．81％。结论长春市20岁以上人群OSAHS的患病率为4.81％，人们对打鼾和OSAHS的发生尚未引起足够的重视，应加强宣传教育工作。