Airway resistance and allergic sensitization in children with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the airway resistance in Chinese children with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) by impulse oscilloetry (IOS) and investigate the association of the severity of OSAHS with the airway resistance and allergic sensitization.


METHODS
A total of 120 children (92 boys) treated for snoring in Beijing Children's Hospital between October 2010 and March 2011 were included in this study. Ninety-three children were diagnosed with OSAHS and 27 did not show OSAHS. Total airway resistance (R5), proximal airway resistance (R20), and peripheral airway resistance (X5) were determined by IOS. Serum levels of total IgE and allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) were also determined.


RESULTS
R5 in the OSAHS group was significantly higher than that in the non-OSAHS group (P = 0.0025), whereas R20 and X5 were similar in the two groups. R5 was positively correlated with apnea hypopnea index and obstructive apnea index and negatively correlated with the lowest arterial oxygen saturation significantly (all P < 0.05). The percentage of children with abnormal serum levels of total IgE or abnormal allergen-specific IgEs was comparable in OSAHS and non-OSAHS groups. The proportions of abnormal R5 and of abnormal serum levels of total IgE were significantly higher in children with severe OSAHS compared with children with mild or moderate OSAHS (all P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Total airway resistance was significantly increased in Children with OSAHS. Allergic sensitization might contribute to the exacerbation of existing OSAHS in children. Large scale studies are required to further validate these findings.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Head and Neck Surgery Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Jie
J
Zhang
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Head and Neck Surgery Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Jing
J
Zhao
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Head and Neck Surgery Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Min
M
Chen
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Head and Neck Surgery Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Shilin
S
Liu
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Head and Neck Surgery Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Xuexi
X
Zhang
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Head and Neck Surgery Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Fengzhen
F
Zhang
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Head and Neck Surgery Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Yamei
Y
Zhang
School of Biomedical Engineering, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Hui
H
Chen
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Head and Neck Surgery Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P. R. China.
Xin
X
Ni
D000403:Airway Resistance; D044466:Asian People; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009991:Oscillometry; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012913:Snoring / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016683:Supine Position
airway resistance; allergen; children; impulse oscillometry; obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome