Six-month follow-up of children with obstructive sleep apnoea.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined prospectively changes in development, temperament and sleep related behaviour in children referred for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and polysomnographic sleep study, some of whom had surgical intervention.


METHODS
Using a prospective cohort study design, parents of 56 children referred for OSA completed sleep and temperament questionnaires and their child was assessed developmentally at the time of the polysomnographic sleep study. Forty (72%) of the children were neurologically normal. At 6 months, 42 children were reassessed using sleep and temperament questionnaires and a developmental assessment. After excluding the primary snorers, subjects were categorised as having had intervention (n = 24) or not (n = 15), and differences over the 6-month period in Griffiths scores, temperament and sleep related behaviour were examined.


RESULTS
Regardless of intervention status, there was an improvement in night-time and day-time sleep behaviour for the total group, though the extent of improvement was more marked in the intervention group. For the neurologically normal children, improvement in the sleep behaviour was only significant for the intervention group (P < 0.05). Intervention did not result in any significant changes in Griffiths developmental score or temperament.


CONCLUSIONS
Surgical intervention improves sleep behaviour in children though not temperament or development.
Harvey
J M
JM
Developmental Clinic, Mater Children's Hospital, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. jharvey@mater.org.au
O'Callaghan
M J
MJ
Wales
P D
PD
Harris
M A
MA
Masters
I B
IB
D000233:Adenoidectomy; D001315:Australia; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014068:Tonsillectomy