title: Upper Airway Vibration Perception in School-Aged Children with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
abstract: Children with the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have impaired upper airway two-point discrimination compared to controls. In addition, blunted vibration threshold detection (VT) in the palate has been recognized in adults with OSA, but has not been studied in children. Both findings are indicative of a defect in the afferent limb of the upper airway dilator reflex that could prevent upper airway dilation secondary to airway loading, resulting in airway collapse. We hypothesized that children with OSA have impaired palate VT compared to controls, and that this improves after OSA treatment.
  
  
  
  Case-control study. Children with OSA and healthy non-snoring controls underwent polysomnography and palate VT measurements. Children with OSA were retested after adenotonsillectomy.
  
  
  
  29 children with OSA (median [interquartile range] age = 9.5 [7.5-12.6] years, obstructive apnea-hypopnea index [OAHI] = 11.3 [5.7-19.5] events/h, BMI z = 1.8 [1.3-2.1]) and 32 controls (age = 11.2 [9.3-13.5] years, P = 0.1; OAHI = 0.5 [0.1-0.7] events/h, P < 0.001; BMI z = 1 [0.3-1.7], P = 0.004) were tested. OSA palate VT (1.0 [0.8-1.5] vibration units) was similar to that of controls (1 [0.8-1.3], P = 0.37). 20 children with OSA were retested 4.4 (3.2-7.1) months after treatment. OAHI decreased from 13.1 (5.8-19) to 0.6 (0.2-2.5) events per hour (P < 0.001) postoperatively, but palate VT did not change (before = 1 [0.7-1.5], after = 1.2 [0.8-1.4], P = 0.37).
  
  
  
  Children with OSA and controls have similar palate VT. Unlike in adults, palate VT does not seem to be affected by childhood OSA.
authors.affiliation: Sleep Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.|Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Ignacio E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Tapia
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Core, Clinical and Translational Research Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Ji Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Sleep Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Mary Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cornaglia
authors.affiliation: Sleep Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Traylor
authors.affiliation: Sleep Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: George J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Samuel
authors.affiliation: Sleep Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: McDonough
authors.affiliation: Sleep Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.|Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Carole L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Marcus
mesh_terms: D000233:Adenoidectomy; D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010159:Palate / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D014068:Tonsillectomy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014732:Vibration
keywords: children; obstructive sleep apnea; upper airway; vibration