[Long term change in quality of life after adenotonsillectomy for pediatric obstructive sleep disorders]

Changes in the oral and nasal microbiota in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea

Background

Several clinical studies have demonstrated that pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with dysbiosis of airway mucosal microbiota. However, how oral and nasal microbial diversity, composition, and structure are altered in pediatric OSA has not been systemically explored.

Methods

30 polysomnography-confirmed OSA patients with adenoid hypertrophy, and 30 controls who did not have adenoid hypertrophy, were enrolled. Swabs from four surface oral tissue sites (tongue base, soft palate, both palatine tonsils, and adenoid) and one nasal swab from both anterior nares were collected. The 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) V3-V4 region was sequenced to identify the microbial communities.

Results

The beta diversity and microbial profiles were significantly different between pediatric OSA patients and controls at the five upper airway sites. The abundances of Haemophilus, Fusobacterium, and Porphyromonas were higher at adenoid and tonsils sites of pediatric patients with OSA. Functional analysis revealed that the differential pathway between the pediatric OSA patients and controls involved glycerophospholipids and amino acid metabolism.

Conclusions

In this study, the oral and nasal microbiome of pediatric OSA patients exhibited certain differences in composition compared with the controls. However, the microbiota data could be useful as a reference for studies on the upper airway microbiome.

Quality-of-life but not behavior improves 48-months post-adenotonsillectomy in children with SDB

BACKGROUND

Long term follow-up studies (>12 mths) of changes in behavior and quality-of-life (QoL) in children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) post-adenotonsillectomy are limited and there is a lack of consensus in the reported findings. The aim of this study was to evaluate children's sleep, QoL and behavior at baseline and 6 mths and 48 mths post-adenotonsillectomy for clinically diagnosed SDB.

METHODS

This prospective longitudinal study of children aged 3-12 y recruited from a Children's Hospital otolaryngology clinic compared polysomnographic parameters, behavior (Child Behavior Checklist; CBCL) and QoL (OSA-18) at baseline, 6mths and 48mths post-adenotonsillectomy and compared these parameters to healthy non-snoring controls recruited from the general community at the same time points.

RESULTS

Sixty-four children completed sleep, behavior and QoL assessments (SDB = 20M/9F, Controls = 18M/17F) at all three time points. Sleep and ventilatory parameters significantly improved in children with SDB with minimal residual obstruction evident at 48 mths post-adenotonsillectomy. Compared to baseline, OSA-18 scores significantly improved post-adenotonsillectomy in children with SDB and were equivalent to the scores of controls at 6 mths and 48 mths post-AT. No significant improvement was observed in behavior in children with SDB post-adenotonsillectomy over the same time period.

CONCLUSION

Baseline deficits in sleep and QoL in children with SDB were normalized at 6 mths post-adenotonsillectomy and gains were maintained at 48 mths post-adenotonsillectomy. Children with SDB did not show significant gains in behavior either at 6 mths or 48 mths post-adenotonsillectomy.

Immediate and Sustained Improvement in Behavior and Life Quality by Adenotonsillectomy in Children With Sleep-Disordered Breathing

OBJECTIVES

To investigate longitudinal changes in behavior and quality-of-life (QoL) in children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) after adenotonsillectomy (AT).

METHODS

This study prospectively enrolled 148 children who underwent AT for SDB. Caregivers filled out Korean attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rating scale (K-ARS) and Korean version of the obstructive sleep apnea-18 (KOSA-18) at preoperative 1 day, postoperative 1 month, and postoperative 6 months. Longitudinal changes in K-ARS and KOSA-18 were evaluated and compared among subgroups.

RESULTS

Both K-ARS and KOSA-18 scores improved immediately at postoperative 1 month and were maintained at postoperative 6 months. The mean preoperative K-ARS scores of the non-ADHD, ADHD-trait, and overt-ADHD groups showed uniformly immediate and sustained improvements. Also, the mean preoperative KOSA-18 scores of the small, moderate, and large impact groups were significantly improved both at postoperative 1 month and 6 months. The changes in behavior and QoL showed no significant differences with regard to the aforementioned factors.

CONCLUSION

After AT, we may expect immediate and sustained improvements in behavior and QoL in children with SDB regardless of preoperative symptom severity. Moreover, by performing AT, improvements in behavior and QoL are expected regardless of sex, age, allergic trait, or concurrent coblation-assisted turbinoplasty. These findings may help our colleague physicians counselling pediatric SDB patients and their caregivers.

The efficacy of the OSA-18 as a waiting list triage tool for OSA in children

PURPOSE

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is common in children, resulting in extensive waiting lists for specialist clinics. There is an urgent need for a valid method of triaging patients and the OSA-18, a disease-specific tool, is an attractive candidate for this role. We aimed to examine the OSA-18 as a measurement tool in detail and to determine whether the score or aspects of it could be used as a screening tool for SDB in children.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of 582 children (6 months to 16.4 years)-216 underwent overnight PSG and 366 overnight oximetry. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were conducted. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the factors for the presence of OSA. Rasch analysis was used to assess the structure of the items (1-18) and categories of response (Likert scale).

RESULTS

The CFA with a forced five-factor structure, revealed three factors with Eigenvalues >1, and explained 73.7 % of the variance. EFA resulted in a two-factor structure, explaining 60.3 % of the variance. Assessment of sensitivity and specificity showed a high false-positive rate, irrespective of the factor structure tested. Rasch analysis showed poor discrimination between adjacent categories on the Likert scale.

CONCLUSION

This study confirmed that the predictive value of the OSA-18 for SDB severity is weak. Some questions perform better than others statistically, and the seven categories of response introduce significant statistical noise, raising the possibility that modification of the OSA-18 may improve its performance in the prediction of OSA severity.

Quality of life after adenotonsillectomy in children with obstructive sleep apnea: short-term and long-term results

OBJECTIVE

To assess short-term and long-term changes in quality of life after adenotonsillectomy (T&A) in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Children aged 2-18 years old were enrolled. All subjects had clinical symptoms, overnight polysomnography diagnosis of OSA, and received T&A as treatment. Caregivers were asked to complete the OSA-18 survey before surgery, within 6 months after surgery (short-term), and more than 6 months after surgery (long-term).

RESULTS

A total of 114 children were included (mean age, 7.0±3.5 years; 75% boys). The mean OSA-18 total score was 71.5±16.0 before surgery. After surgery, the mean OSA-18 total score was significantly decreased in both the short-term (40.3±12.2, p<0.001) and the long-term (42.0±13.7, p<0.001). All five OSA-18 domains were also significantly decreased during short-term and long-term postoperative follow up (p<0.001). Short-term and long-term outcomes were compared. Mean OSA-18 total scores, sleep disturbance score, emotional distress score, daytime function score, and caregiver concerns score did not differ significantly between the short-term and long-term periods, while the physical symptom score was slightly higher in the long-term than the short-term period (9.7±3.3 vs. 8.7±3.0, p=0.02). Additionally, the physical symptoms score was higher in the long-term period in the female (p=0.01), older age (>6 years) (p=0.03), and non-obese (p=0.04) subgroups.

CONCLUSION

T&A improves short-term and long-term quality of life in children with OSA. Nevertheless, caregivers observed children with aggravation of physical symptoms of quality of life during long-term follow up, especially in the female, older, and non-obese subgroups.

Efficiency of external nasal dilators in pediatric nasal septal deviation

INRODUCTION

Nasal septal deviation results from irregular development of the nasomaxillary complex and trauma. Treatment of nasal septal deviation in pediatric patients is one of the biggest challenges in rhinology. Surgery may alter craniofacial growth patterns, and so it may be indicated only in the selected cases. The use of external nasal dilators is a relatively new treatment modality in nasal obstruction.

OBJECTIVE

This study was performed to assess the efficacy of external nasal dilator in pediatric nasal septal deviation patients.

METHODS

Seventy-six children who were diagnosed with nasal septal deviation at our outpatient clinic were included in the study. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the external nasal dilator group was composed of 48 children that had used an external nasal dilator for at least 1 month and still been using, while the control group was comprised of 28 children that had not received any treatment and had not used an external nasal dilator. The parents of the children were asked to complete the obstructive sleep apnea 18 questionnaire. In addition, the external nasal dilator group was asked to complete the questionnaire after stopping external nasal dilator use for 2 weeks and the control group also repeated the obstructive sleep apnea 18 questionnaire.

RESULTS

The obstructive sleep apnea 18 questionnaire results were significantly different between the external nasal dilator group and the control group at the beginning of the study (i.e., when patients in the external nasal dilator group were still using their dilators, P = 0.000). On the other hand, there was no difference between the 2 groups after the patients in the external nasal dilator group had stopped using their external nasal dilator (P = 0.670).

CONCLUSION

External nasal dilator use relieved nasal septal deviation, which narrows the nasal valve. The results of this study suggest that external nasal dilator could be used in patients that are not candidates for septoplasty.

Quality of life after adenotonsillectomy for children with sleep-disordered breathing: a linear mixed model analysis

OBJECTIVE

To study changes in quality of life (QoL) after adenotonsillectomy (T&A) in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and to elucidate discrepancies in QoL improvements after T&A in children of different gender, age, adiposity status, and disease severity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Children aged 2-18 years were recruited. All children had SDB-related symptoms and underwent preoperative full-night polysomnography (PSG). Caregivers completed the first obstructive sleep apnea 18-items questionnaire (OSA-18) prior to T&A and the second OSA-18 survey within 3 months after surgery. Disease severity was defined as primary snoring (apnea/hypopnea index, AHI < 1), mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) (5 > AHI ≥ 1), and moderate-to-severe OSA (AHI ≥ 5). Discrepancies in OSA-18 score changes after T&A for different groups were assessed using the linear mixed model.

RESULTS

In total, 144 children were enrolled (mean age, 7.0 ± 3.6 years; 76% boy). The OSA-18 total score changes after surgery were not significantly different by gender (boys vs. girls), age group (≥ 6 years vs. < 6 years), or adiposity (obese vs. non-obese). The OSA-18 total score changes after surgery differed by disease severity (primary snoring vs. moderate-to-severe OSA, P = 0.004; mild OSA vs. moderate-to-severe OSA, P = 0.003). Children with moderate-to-severe OSA had greater improvement in OSA-18 total score after surgery than those with mild OSA or primary snoring.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with SDB had QoL improvement after T&A, as documented by OSA-18 score changes. The QoL improvement after T&A for SDB children increased as disease severity increased, and the improvement was not affected by gender, age, or adiposity.

Discrepancy between Objective and Subjective Outcomes after Adenotonsillectomy in Children with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Objective

Adenotonsillectomy (T&A) is the first line therapy for pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); however, inconsistency between objective and subjective outcomes perplexes physicians. This study investigates changes of objective and subjective outcomes in children with OSA after T&A, in particular, to elucidate correlations and discrepancies between these 2 measures.

Study Design

Case series with record review.

Setting

Tertiary referral medical center.

Subjects and Methods

Symptomatic children with polysomnographic diagnosis of OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] > 1) were included. All children underwent T&A to treat OSA, along with completely objective (polysomnography) and subjective (Obstructive Sleep Apnea 18-Item Quality-of-Life Questionnaire [OSA-18]) measures before and 3 months after surgery.

Results

One hundred nineteen children were included (mean age, 6.9 ± 3.3 years; 76% boys). Adenotonsillectomy significantly reduced AHI from 15.4 ± 21.2 per hour to 1.6 ± 2.5 per hour ( P < .001). The OSA-18 scores were significantly improved after surgery ( P < .001). A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was found between AHI and OSA-18 scores preoperatively (ρ = 0.22, P = .016) but not postoperatively (ρ = 0.04, P = .677). Among those cases with residual OSA after surgery, only 6% (3/54) had a residual effect on quality of life (OSA-18 score > 60).

Conclusion

Adenotonsillectomy improves both objective and subjective outcomes. After surgery, quality of life significantly improved subjectively, despite an incomplete resolution of OSA objectively, leading to a better correlation between objective and subjective measures before as opposed to after surgery. Discrepancy between the 2 measures warrants an evaluation of a child both objectively and subjectively when treating OSA.

Sleep related quality of life before and after adenotonsillar surgery in pediatric population

OBJECTIVE

To assess the quality of life in children with adenotonsillar problems before and after adenotonsillectomy in short term follow-up.

METHODS

Quasi-experimental study (before and after study) of children with adenotonsillar problems at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Amir'Alam hospital. Eighty six pediatric patients aged 3 through 13 years (58 boys and 28 girls) who underwent adenotonsillectomy, for treatment of sleep disordered breathing or recurrent throat infection, were recruited. Parents completed OSA-18 quality of life survey and Brouillette score questionnaire before and one month after surgery.

RESULTS

Reliability of the Brouillette score and OSA-18 survey was established by evaluating the Cronbach α value. Cronbach α for Brouillette score was 0.70 and for OSA-18 survey it was 0.88. Preoperative values for the OSA-18 total and domain scores were high in children: mean±SD; 61.65±20.78. Preoperative values for the Brouillette score were: mean±SD; 0.41±2.34. The total OSA-18 survey score and the scores for all domains showed significant improvement after surgery: mean±SD; 28.01±9.09 (P<0.001). Post-operative Brouillette score had a significant improvement: mean±SD; -3.57±0.91 (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Considering the OSA-18 survey and Brouillete score results, surgical therapy with adenotonsillectomy is associated with marked improvement in quality of life in both obstructive and infective adenotonsillar disease.

Questionnaire OSA-18 has poor validity compared to polysomnography in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the diagnostic value of the quality-of-life instrument OSA-18 by comparing it with objective data from polysomnography in children with sleep-disordered breathing.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Full-night polysomnographic data were obtained from 225 subjects, 139 boys and 86 girls, median age 4.5 years (1-12) in our sleep laboratory. Their caregivers answered the OSA-18 quality-of-life instrument (range 18-126). The polysomnographic parameter, the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was compared with the total symptom score (TSS) and with the subscale of sleep disturbance (SD) from the OSA-18 questionnaire. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were created to test the predictive value of OSA-18.

RESULTS

With the TSS of the OSA-18 at ≥60, compared with AHI levels of >1 and ≥5, the sensitivity was 55.2% and 59.3% respectively, and the specificity 40.9% and 48.4%, respectively. With the TSS>80 and AHI levels of ≥5 and ≥10, the sensitivity was 24.6% and 32.1%, respectively. For the subscale of SD, the majority of the subjects showed poor correlation with the AHI values. The ROC area under the curve for different levels of the AHI (>1, ≥5, and ≥10) was 0.49, 0.57, and 0.56, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The OSA-18 questionnaire showed poor validity in detecting and predicting pediatric OSA. The majority of the children with severe OSA would not be correctly diagnosed if the OSA-18 were used as a dominant diagnostic tool.

A four year follow-up of sleep and respiratory measures in elementary school-aged children with sleep disordered breathing

OBJECTIVE

Little is known of the long-term prognosis of children treated for sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and even less of children with milder forms of SDB who remain untreated. We aimed to investigate the long-term sleep and respiratory outcomes of children with a range of SDB severities.

METHODS

41 children with SDB and 20 non snoring controls (mean age, 12.9±0.2 y), underwent repeat overnight polysomnography (PSG) 4.0±0.3years after initial diagnosis. SDB severity, presence of snoring, sleep and respiratory parameters, sleep fragmentation index (SFI), the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS), Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), and obstructive sleep apnea 18-item quality of life questionnaire were re assessed. Children with SDB were grouped into resolved (no snoring and obstructive apnea-hypopnea index [OAHI] <1) and unresolved (snoring or an OAHI > or =1).

RESULTS

At follow-up OAHI was reduced in both SDB groups (p<0.05); however, 54% (n=22) of children still continued to snore, having either persistent or new OSA (n=4). In this unresolved group, sleep was significantly disrupted; % nonrapid eye movement stage 1 (NREM1) sleep and SFI were increased (p<0.05), and total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency were decreased compared to the resolved and control groups (p<0.05). Overall, 29% of children were treated, and of these, 67% had resolved SDB. SDB groups had higher PDSS, SDSC, and OSA-18 scores compared to controls at follow-up (p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrated that although SDB improved in the long-term, more than 50% of children had residual SDB (mostly primary snoring) and sleep disturbance. As even mild forms of SDB are known to have adverse cardiovascular, learning, and behavioral outcomes, which have implications for the health of these children.

Understanding obstructive sleep apnea in children with CHARGE syndrome

OBJECTIVE

CHARGE syndrome occurs in approximately 1 in 8500 live births and is diagnosed clinically by combinations of major characteristics: choanal atresia, coloboma, characteristic ears, cranial nerve abnormalities and distinct temporal bone anomalies. More than 50% of children with CHARGE syndrome experience sleep disturbances, with obstructive sleep apnea being one diagnosis. Objectives of this study were to develop a better understanding of the prevalence, symptomatology and treatments of sleep apnea in CHARGE syndrome. Secondary aims were to determine the usefulness of questionnaires examining obstructive sleep apnea in a CHARGE syndrome population.

METHODS

Parents of 51 children with CHARGE syndrome (aged 0-14 years) were recruited between May 2010 and July 2011. Genetic testing and/or clinical criteria confirmed diagnosis of CHARGE syndrome. Questionnaires completed by parents included one covering CHARGE characteristics and three previously validated questionnaires: the Brouilette Score Questionnaire, the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire and the OSA-18 Quality of Life Questionnaire. SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical calculations.

RESULTS

Previous diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea was present in 65% of the study population. Treatments included continuous positive airway pressure, tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy, and tracheostomy. Brouilette scores identified the presence of obstructive sleep apnea in the CHARGE syndrome population studied and indicated statistically significant (p=<0.001) improvements following treatment, which were comparable to the general population. Only the subscales of snoring and daytime sleepiness were useful in identifying obstructive sleep apnea using the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire. The OSA-18 Questionnaire indicated that residual symptoms affecting quality of life may be present in the CHARGE syndrome population after treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.

CONCLUSIONS

Obstructive sleep apnea appears to be prevalent in children with CHARGE syndrome. All conventional treatments for obstructive sleep apnea reduce symptomatology. Brouilette scores are useful in identifying obstructive sleep apnea in the CHARGE syndrome population. The Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire could be useful once modified. The OSA-18 Questionnaire would be most useful as a means to measure quality of life gains following treatment.

Can the OSA-18 quality-of-life questionnaire detect obstructive sleep apnea in children?

BACKGROUND

Polysomnography is the best tool available for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children. However, polysomnography is relatively inaccessible and costly, and studies are needed to evaluate other diagnostic approaches. It has been suggested that the OSA-18 quality-of-life questionnaire (OSA-18) is a useful measure that could replace polysomnography. The purpose of our study was to determine if the OSA-18, is an accurate measure for the detection of moderate-to-severe OSA.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Children who were referred to our sleep laboratory for evaluation of suspected OSA and who had a nocturnal pulse oximetry study were included in our cross-sectional study. The results of the oximetry study were interpreted by using the McGill oximetry score (MOS). Abnormal scores were consistent with moderate-to-severe OSA. We analyzed demographic and medical data in addition to the OSA-18 results. We estimated sensitivity and negative predictive values for the OSA-18 to detect an abnormal MOS. We also conducted logistic regression analyses with MOS as the dependent variable and the OSA-18 score, age, gender, comorbidities, and race as independent variables.

RESULTS

We studied 334 children (mean age: 4.6 years; 58% male). The OSA-18 had a sensitivity of 40% and a negative predictive value of 73% for detecting an abnormal MOS. While controlling for other variables in the regression model, for each unit increase in the OSA-18 score, the odds of having an abnormal MOS were increased by 2%. For each 1-year increase in age, the odds of having an abnormal MOS were decreased by 17%.

CONCLUSIONS

Among children who are referred to a sleep laboratory, the OSA-18 does not accurately detect which children will have an abnormal MOS and cannot be used to exclude moderate-to-severe OSA. The OSA-18 should not be used in the place of objective testing to identify moderate-to-severe OSA in children.