Apnea In Children

A detailed history characterizing the event in terms of duration and associated symptoms, including a change in color and mental status, relationship to sleep, and feeding should be obtained.  History with a particular focus on prematurity, known congenital, metabolic or genetic disorders, neurological conditions and previous similar episodes should be obtained. Any possibility of exposure to toxic substances should be ascertained. A family history of snoring, exposure to tobacco smoke, and nasal allergies are all strongly associated with obstructive sleep apnea. History of fever, cough, and rhinorrhea suggests an infectious cause and chronic mouth breathing and snoring. Excessive daytime sleeping suggests upper airway obstruction. Other symptoms of OSA include restlessness, frequent nightmares, difficulty to wake up, enuresis, other behavior problems, and overall irregular sleep patterns.

Abnormal vital signs should be addressed emergently, but in most cases, the child appears well at the time of evaluation. Abnormal size and appearance of the child may offer clues towards identifying an underlying metabolic or genetic abnormality, and unexplained skin bruises may suggest child abuse. Cyanosis represents poor perfusion or hypoxia, and pallor is suggestive of anemia.

Altered mental status, bulging fontanelles indicate increased intracranial pressure and presence of fever and rhinorrhea suggests upper airway infection or bronchiolitis. Sonorous breathing indicates obstruction at the pharyngeal level (tonsil/adenoidal

Aspiration syndromes

Bacteremia

'Botulism

Brief resolved unexplained events (apparent life- threatening events)

Bronchiolitis

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Childhood sleep apnea

Croup

Emergent management of pediatric patients with fever

Congestive heart failure

Influenza

Laryngomalacia

Munchausen syndrome

hypertrophy), stridor suggests upper airway obstruction and wheeze lower airway obstruction (asthma). Characteristic adenoid facies (underdeveloped thin nostrils, short upper lip, prominent upper teeth, crowded teeth, narrow upper alveolus, high-arched palate, hypoplastic maxilla) with mouth breathing, nasal speech, and periorbital swelling may be present in 15% to 20% of children with OSA.

The performance of lab and imaging studies should be based on indications uncovered by the history and physical examination. If OSA is suspected, polysomnography is considered to be the gold standard for diagnosis and determination of severity. Lateral neck x-rays may show adenoidal hypertrophy or other abnormalities, but these are not diagnostic. Pulse oximetry when asleep and/or sleep questionnaires may be used to identify children when polysomnography is not feasible.[10][11][12][9]

The management of apnea in infants is geared toward identifying the underlying cause, and therapeutic interventions are directed toward the identified condition. For OSA, the first-line treatment is adenotonsillectomy, with other options being tonsillotomy, tongue reduction surgeries, and tracheostomy in selected patients. While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the mainstay of therapy for most adults, though effective for moderate OSA, these devices are hard to use in children as they are not well tolerated.

Overall medical therapy has limited value in OSA. Fluticasone administered nasally for six weeks reduced the frequency of obstructive events in children, but the effect is not long lasting, and it was used in mild OSA. Systemic steroids have no role in treating OSA. In a double-blind, randomized control trial, oral montelukast for six weeks decreased the severity of OSA and adenoidal hypertrophy. Consultation with specialists should be based on the identified cause of apnea.

• Aspiration syndromes

• Bacteremia

• 'Botulism

• Brief resolved unexplained events (apparent life-threatening events)

• Bronchiolitis

• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

• Childhood sleep apnea

• Croup

• Emergent management of pediatric patients with fever

• Congestive heart failure

• Influenza

• Laryngomalacia

• Munchausen syndrome

Long-term consequences of untreated OSA include neurocognitive disabilities, behavior problems, growth failure, pectus excavatum, scoliosis, pulmonary hypertension, and cor-pulmonale.

A polysomnographic-derived index known as the apnea-hypopnea index (apnea-hypopnea index equals the total number of apneas and hypopneas/total duration of sleep in hours) can be used to determine severity. An apnea-hypopnea index of less than one is considered to be normal in children. An apnea-hypopnea index of more than 20 is considered severely abnormal.

The diagnosis and management of apnea in children is with an interprofessional team that includes the pediatrician, nurse practitioner, primary care provider, neurologist, radiologist, and the sleep specialist. The management of apnea in infants is geared toward identifying the underlying cause, and therapeutic interventions are directed toward the identified condition.

Consultation with specialists should be based on the identified cause of apnea. The outcomes depend on the cause but if apnea is left untreated, it can have serious repercussions on growth, intellect and functioning. [13][14]