Auditory processing assessment in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
BACKGROUND
The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a respiratory disorder that occurs during sleep and it is relatively common in children.


OBJECTIVE
The goal of this paper is to verify if there is a relationship between the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and auditory processing.


METHODS
In order to do that, three groups of children ranging in age from 5 to 11 were studied, including a normal group. Twenty subjects who made up the study group were submitted to ear, nose and throat (ENT) exams and to polysomnography (PSG), and were divided in two groups: GROUP I (RO) comprised of 10 children who presented oral breathing and displayed normal PSG, and GROUP II (SAS) comprised of 10 children who presented oral breathing and displayed abnormal PSG. Their performance was compared to the performance of the third group--GROUP III (REN) comprised of 10 children who did not refer ENT difficulties. All the subjects completed a basic audiometric assessment as well as an auditory processing diagnosis.


RESULTS
The analyses of the results revealed a statistically significant difference in ENT exams related to the turbinate and the palatine tonsils. Group II presented a higher incidence of turbinate hypertrophy levels II and III (p<0.001) and palatine tonsils hypertrophy grades III and IV (p 0.007). Regarding the auditory processing assessment, a statistically significant difference (p<0.001) was obtained in the dichotic digits test. Group II performed worse than group III. Also, for the non-verbal sequence memory test, Group II obtained a worse result (p<0.022) than Group I.


CONCLUSIONS
Subjects with OSAS obtained worse results in auditory processing tests.
Ziliotto
Karin Neves
KN
Science of Human Communication Disturbances Unit, EPM, UNIFESP, Sao Paulo Federal University, Paulista Medical College, Brazil. rdkz@uol.com.br
dos Santos
Maria Francisca Colella
MF
Monteiro
Valeria G
VG
Pradella-Hallinan
Márcia
M
Moreira
Gustavo A
GA
Pereira
Liliane Desgualdo
LD
Weckx
Luc L M
LL
Fujita
Reginaldo Raimundo
RR
Pizarro
Gilberto Ulson
GU
D001299:Audiometry; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy; D008297:Male; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000473:pathology; D017286:Polysomnography; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications*; D014420:Turbinates / Q000473:pathology