Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children

Partial or complete repetitive obstructions of the upper airway during sleep give rise to clinical symptoms associated with heavy, chronic snoring. The number of obstructive sleep apneas during the night may be less important than the repetitive inspiratory increases in upper airway resistance, even if these are associated only with a partial airway collapse. Oxygen saturation may not be severely affected by partial occlusion during nocturnal recording, although clinical symptoms may occur. Esophageal pressure measurements and breathing frequency during sleep are key features in the polygraphic evaluation of prepubertal children. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy may be helpful in treating children with small upper airway during sleep. The marked interaction between upper airway adequacy and craniofacial morphology make it critical to evaluate the impact of partial or complete airway occlusion during sleep on facial prognathism. Nasal continuous positive airway pressure is a safe treatment for persistent, partial or complete upper airway occlusion during sleep, but it does not address the mandibular deficiency often seen in symptomatic children. Orthodontic evaluation and treatment may make maxillomandibular surgery unnecessary during the pubertal years.     

儿童阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征

儿童阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征 (obstructivesleepapneasyndrome ,OSAS)是一种“以持续性的部分上呼吸道阻塞和(或 )间歇性的完全阻塞 (阻塞性呼吸暂停 )打乱正常睡眠通气和睡眠方式为特征的睡眠呼吸疾病”[1] 。其主要临床表现是习惯性打鼾、睡眠障碍、白日嗜睡、行为障碍等。它能够导致患儿出现行为认知障碍、生长迟缓、夜间遗尿 ,甚至出现系统性高血压、肺源性心脏病。目前在我国该病正逐步引起广泛重视。现对该疾病的诊断和治疗进展进行综述。一、流行病学儿童OSAS可以发生在从新生儿到青春期的各个年龄段 ,而在 2～ 6岁出现发病的…     

Obstructive sleep apnea in children: an update

The diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in children requires clinical suspicion supplemented with the use of specific diagnostic tests. Polysomnography remains the key to diagnosis, and helps to assess the need for treatment, the risk for perioperative respiratory compromise, and the likelihood of persistent OSAS after treatment. Adenotonsillectomy is the mainstay of treatment, although children with complex medical conditions that affect upper airway anatomy and tone may require additional treatment.     

Obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep disorders and apnea are commonly seen in children of all ages. The obstruction usually causes snoring and varying periods of interrupted breathing during sleep. Obstructive sleep disorders cause multiple physiologic disturbances and should be treated before they become severe.     

Obstructive sleep apnea in children with Down syndrome.

Children with Down syndrome have many predisposing factors for the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), yet the type and severity of OSAS in this population has not been characterized. Fifty-three subjects with Down syndrome (mean age 7.4 +/- 1.2 [SE] years; range 2 weeks to 51 years) were studied. Chest wall movement, heart rate, electroculogram, end-tidal PO2 and PCO2, transcutaneous PO2 and PCO2, and arterial oxygen saturation were measured during a daytime nap polysomnogram. Sixteen of these children also underwent overnight polysomnography. Nap polysomnograms were abnormal in 77% of children; 45% had obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), 4% had central apnea, and 6% had mixed apneas; 66% had hypoventilation (end-tidal PCO2 greater than 45 mm Hg) and 32% desaturation (arterial oxygen saturation less than 90%). Overnight studies were abnormal in 100% of children, with OSA in 63%, hypoventilation in 81%, and desaturation in 56%. Nap studies significantly underestimated the presence of abnormalities when compared to overnight polysomnograms. Seventeen (32%) of the children were referred for testing because OSAS was clinically suspected, but there was no clinical suspicion of OSAS in 36 (68%) children. Neither age, obesity, nor the presence of congenital heart disease affected the incidence of OSA, desaturation, or hypoventilation. Polysomnograms improved in all 8 children who underwent tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, but they normalized in only 3. It is concluded that children with Down syndrome frequently in have OSAS, with OSA, hypoxemia, and hypoventilation. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is seen frequently in those children in whom it is not clinically suspected. It is speculated that OSAS may contribute to the unexplained pulmonary hypertension seen in children with Down syndrome.     

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in infants and children]

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by prolonged, generally partial, upper airway obstruction associated with hypoxemia and/or hypercapnia. Main etiological factors include hypertrophy of the tonsils and adenoids, craniofacial abnormalities with reduction in the upper airway caliber, abnormality of neural upper airway control, or a combination of these factors. Symptoms depend on age, but they always include snoring and breathing difficulties during sleep. Diagnosis of OSAS must be established early in order to prevent complications. It is suspected on history, physical examination and investigative confrontation such as nasofibroscopy and imaging. Polysomnography is the gold standard for diagnosis, scoring of the obstruction and distinction between primary snoring and obstructive breathing. Adenotonsillectomy is an effective therapy. For selected patients, craniofacial surgery may be helpful. Some children require continuous positive airway pressure or the nasopharyngeal tube. Tracheotomy is rarely indicated.     

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in childhood

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a well-known clinical entity in adults but until now it has been less well studied in children. Several studies have shown that the prevalence of pediatric OSAS is high (between 1% and 3%) and its consequences can be serious. Major risk factors for OSAS in children include adeno-tonsillar hypertrophy, neuromuscular disease and syndromes such as Down's or Pierre-Robin's syndrome. Definitive diagnosis is by nocturnal polysomnography while other methods such as cardiorespiratory records and nocturnal pulse oximetry are undoubtedly useful. Adenotonsillectomy plays a major role in the treatment of OSAS. Nasal continuous positive airway pressure is an alternative in children who show poor response to surgical treatment or in those with craniofacial alterations. In a few cases, nocturnal oxygen administration can be useful.     

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children: the responsibility of pediatricians

Although obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children is a frequent and potentially serious respiratory disorder, it has a reliable diagnosis and treatment is highly effective. OSAS is a respiratory sleep-related disorder that forms part of sleep apnea-hypoapnea syndrome. The syndrome affects between 1 % and 3 % of children. In addition to its cardiopulmonary complications, it can retard growth and increase the risk of hyperactivity and learning difficulties. It has also been associated with attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. When OSAS is suspected, up-to-date nocturnal polysomnography is the gold standard for the diagnosis and quantification of severity of childhood OSAS. In most children the treatment of choice is adenotonsillectomy, which has a success rate of more than 85 %. We provide an up-to-date review of the evidence on the clinical features, etiology, complications and treatment of OSAS in children. The main objective of this review is to alert pediatricians to their essential role in the early detection of this syndrome, especially among children who snore, and to provide a clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis and definitive treatment of these children.     

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children: controversies in diagnosis and treatment

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common, under-recognized condition in childhood with significant morbidities if undiagnosed and untreated. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued a clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis and management of childhood OSAS. It was accompanied by a comprehensive evidence-based technical report that summarized the available literature supporting the guideline. The current review highlights areas of controversy and uncertainty that limit the development of more definitive standards of practice, updates the reader to several newer publications relevant to diagnosis and treatment of childhood OSAS, and identifies future directions for clinical research.     

Obstructive sleep apnoea in children

Habitual snoring is a very common problem in the paediatric population, especially in preschool children. The differentiation of snoring children into those with primary snoring and those with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is difficult on clinical grounds and the gold standard investigation remains the overnight polysomnogram. The epidemiology of sleep-disordered breathing and OSA in children is changing, in part in relation to the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity in young people. There is also increasing recognition of the adverse neurodevelopmental sequelae that can be associated with OSA, and possibly with milder manifestations of sleep-disordered breathing such as primary snoring. It is therefore important that paediatricians are aware of the problems of sleep-disordered breathing in children, and that a detailed sleep history is part of routine clinical assessment when sleep-related breathing disturbance is suspected or possible.     

Obstructive sleep apnea in Arnold-Chiari malformation treated with acetazolamide

We studied respiratory patterns and transcutaneous gas pressures in two infants with Arnold-Chiari type II malformation referred to us due to repeated episodes of stridor and cyanosis. During both active and quiet sleep, respiration was irregular and absent or inverse thoracic breathing movements and frequent decreases in oxygen saturation to below 80% were observed. When breathing air with 2% CO2 or when given acetazolamide 10 mg/kg, chest wall movements normalized and oxygenation increased to near normal levels. After three months of treatment with acetazolamide 20 mg/kg/24 h no further episodes of hypoventilation or hypoxemia were observed and further treatment could be discontinued. We conclude that stimulation of respiration by CO2 or by acetazolamide appears to recruit chest wall muscles and promote upper airway patency in Arnold-Chiari malformation. A treatment trial with acetazolamide seems justifiable in these infants when respiratory problems are present.     

Enuresis in children with sleep apnea

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that the presence of nocturnal enuresis is related to the severity of sleep apnea, we examined the relation between the Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI, apneas plus hypopneas per hour of sleep) and the presence and severity of enuresis. STUDY DESIGN: All children 4 years of age and older who were referred to our sleep center for suspected sleep disordered breathing (SDB) were asked whether and how frequently they currently wet the bed. All patients underwent full overnight polysomnography (PSG). The relation between RDI and enuresis was examined by chi(2) analysis. A value of P <.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Ninety boys and 70 girls were studied; 66 children (41%) described current enuresis. At all ages, enuresis was more prevalent in our patients than control patients in the literature. Children with an RDI of < or =1 had a significantly lower prevalence of enuresis (17%) than did children with an RDI >1 (47%) (P <.05). Fourteen percent of children with an RDI < or =1 had frequent enuresis, compared with 32% of children with an RDI >1 (P <.05). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of enuresis in children with an RDI 1 to 5, 5 to 15, or >15 (P =.92). CONCLUSIONS: There is a high prevalence of enuresis in children with suspected sleep-disordered breathing. Children with an RDI >1 were at higher risk for enuresis than children with an RDI < or =1. This may be due to the effects of obstructive sleep apnea on arousal response, bladder pressure, or urinary hormone secretion.     

Obstructive sleep apnea: a polysomnographic study of sleep apnea before and after tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy

We report about polysomnographic studies including EEG, EOG, EMG, ECG, measurement of oropharyngeal airflow, recording of chest wall movements and transcutaneous measurements of pO2 and pCO2 in a 4-year-old girl with severe obstructive sleep apnea. Her sleep profile was characterized by a disturbed cyclic pattern of sleep stages with onset of sleep at stage 4, shortening of REM-sleep periods and of sleep stages 1 and 2, and an increased quantity of sleep stage 4. The total time spent in apneic episodes was 11.3% of the total sleep period (only obstructive events). Apneic attacks were recorded mainly in REM and light NREM sleep states. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy resulted in marked improvement without further evidence of abnormal sleeping pattern or of sleep apneas.     

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and hypertrophic tonsils in infants]

BACKGROUND: Even if failure to thrive in infants suffering from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) due to hypertrophic tonsils is well documented in the literature, the surgical act is often delayed due to the lack of diagnostic evidence. CASE REPORTS: We report three cases which share the common characteristic of age of onset, tonsillar hypertrophy, growth retardation and growth catch-up after tonsillectomy. Authors emphasize the importance of clinical diagnosis as a sufficient tool in making the decision of surgery, thus avoiding unnecessary and expensive investigations. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of OSAS in infants and children is essentially clinical, depending mainly on a history provided by the parents, laying stress on nocturnal symptoms and clinical examination. Growth retardation is frequent in this syndrome and should be systematically sought. Tonsillectomy, which is effective in relieving respiratory manifestations, also allows growth recovery.     

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in a child with trisomy 21

Pulmonary hypertension without any cardiovascular malformation was diagnosed by heart catheterization in a 4 year old girl with trisomy 21. A suspected obstructive sleep apnea syndrome was confirmed by polysomnography which revealed numerous obstructive apneas and hypopneas (apnea-index 23/h) with marked oxygen desaturation and a disturbed sleep pattern. Three months after adenotonsillectomy the mother reported her daughter having a quiet sleep without snoring. Polysomnography did not show any apnea nor any oxygen desaturation below 90%. A decrease of the pulmonary artery pressure was documented. Facial dysmorphias and muscle hypotonia predispose patients with trisomy 21 to obstructive sleep apnea, especially if hypertrophy of tonsills and adenoids coexist. Frequent arousals and hypoxia during sleep can result in failure to thrive and pulmonary hypertension. These consequences can be prevented by early diagnosis and treatment.