title: Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
abstract: Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea occurs in about 2% of children, and manifests as snoring, difficulty breathing, and witnessed apneic spells. Daytime symptoms include excessive sleepiness with poor performance and behavior problems. Severe forms may be associated with failure-to-thrive or death. The gold standard diagnostic procedure is overnight polysomnography and is indicated in high-risk patients. While most pediatric patients with obstructive sleep apnea can be treated with tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy; uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, tracheotomy, or other procedures are sometimes indicated. Nonsurgical treatment with continuous positive airway pressure is used in some children. Postoperative management in high-risk children includes careful perioperative monitoring and postoperative polysomnography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bower
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gungor
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*