Sleep clinical record. what differences in school and preschool children?

The sleep clinical record (SCR) may be a valid method for detecting children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). This study aimed to evaluate whether there were differences in SCR depending on age and to identify the possible risk factors for OSA development. We enrolled children with sleep disordered breathing between 2013 and 2015, and divided them according to age into preschool- and school-age groups. All patients underwent SCR and polysomnography. OSA was detected in 81.1% and 83.6% of preschool- and school-age groups, respectively. Obesity, malocclusions, nasal septal deviation and inferior turbinate hypertrophy were significantly more prevalent in school-age children (p6.5 had a sensitivity of 74% in predicting OSA in preschool children with positive predictive value of 86% (p=0.0001). Our study confirms the validity of the SCR as a screening tool for patient candidates for a PSG study for suspected OSA, in both school and preschool children

Sleep clinical record: an aid to rapid and accurate diagnosis of paediatric sleep disordered breathing

n/

Sleep cyclic alternating pattern analysis in healthy children during the first year of life: A daytime polysomnographic study

We evaluated the cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) during the first year of life in order to obtain information on the maturation of arousal mechanisms during NREM sleep and to provide normative data for CAP parameters in this age range (5-16 months). Eleven healthy children (mean age 7.9 +/- 3.3 months, seven boys) were studied while they slept in the morning. They underwent a 3-h video-EEG-polysomnographic recording at the Pediatric Sleep Unit of Sant'Andrea Hospital in Rome, Italy. Sleep was scored visually for sleep architecture and CAP analysis using standard criteria. Our results were complemented by CAP data from a previous sample of healthy infants (2-4 months), studied when they slept during the morning, in order to correlate CAP parameters with age. The total sample comprised 24 children. The sleep period was approximately 2 h, with a first REM latency of about 30 min, and a clear distinction between stages NI, N2, and N3. The arousal index was 12 +/- 2.1 events/hour of sleep. The total CAP rate was 23.7 +/- 7.6%, and it increased progressively with the deepness of sleep; the highest values were observed during stage N3 and the lowest values during stage NI. Al phases were the most numerous (78.2%), followed by A2 (14%) and A3 (7.7%) phases. The Al index was higher than the A2 and A3 indices, whereas the mean duration of B was higher than that of A. The correlation showed that the CAP rate, Al, A2, A3 indices, A2, A3 percentages, and the average duration of B increased with age, whereas the Al percentage decreased. We provide the first data on CAP analysis in children aged 5-16 months, studied when they slept during the morning. Our results confirm the trend toward an increase in CAP rate during the first year of life. In addition, we observed a progressive increase in CAP rate with deepness of sleep, and with age, reflecting maturation of slow-wave activity. The decreased percentage of Al subtypes may reflect the maturation of arousability. (C) 2010 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Prevalence of EEG Paroxysmal Activity in a Population of Children with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Study Objectives: Sleep breathing disorders may trigger paroxysmal events during sleep such as parasomnias and may exacerbate preexisting seizures. We verified the hypothesis that the amount of EEG paroxysmal activity (PA) may be high in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Design: Prospective study Settings: Sleep unit of an academic center. Participants: Polysomnographic studies were performed in a population of children recruited prospectively, for suspected OSAS, from January to December 2007, with no previous history of epileptic seizures or any other medical conditions. All sleep studies included 8 EEG channels, including centrotemporal leads. We collected data about clinical and respiratory parameters of children with OSAS and with primary snoring, then we performed sleep microstructure analysis in 2 OSAS subgroups, matched for age and sex, with and without paroxysmal activity. Measurements and Results: We found 40 children who met the criteria for primary snoring, none of them showed PA, while 127 children met the criteria for OSAS and 18 of them (14.2%) showed PA. Children with PA were older, had a predominance of boys, a longer duration of OSAS, and a lower percentage of adenotonsillar hypertrophy than children without PA. Moreover, PA occurred over the centrotemporal regions in 9 cases, over temporal-occipital regions in 5, and over frontocentral regions in 4. Children with PA showed a lower percentage of REM sleep, a lower CAP rate and lower A1 index during slow wave sleep, and lower total A2 and arousal index than children without EEG abnormalities. Conclusions: We found a higher percentage of paroxysmal activity in children with OSAS, compared to children with primary snoring, who did not exhibit EEG abnormalities. The children with paroxysmal activity have peculiar clinical and sleep microstructure characteristics that may have implications in the neurocognitive outcome of OSAS

Variations in exhaled nitric oxide in children with asthma during a 1-week stay in a mountain village sanatorium

Knowing about spontaneous variations in the fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) could improve monitoring of airway inflammation in asthmatic children. We aimed to assess FE(NO) variations (expiratory flow 50 mL/sec) in subjects maintained in similar environmental conditions. We tested spirometry and FE(NO) in symptom-free asthmatic children (9 corticosteroid-naive, 8 corticosteroid-treated) during a 1-week stay in a countryside sanatorium and in their healthy relatives (n = 12) staying in the immediate neighborhood on summer holiday (total 29 children, M/F: 14/15, 5.8-16.8 yrs). Testing sessions were repeated every 12 hours (8: 00 AM, 8: 00 PM) for 2 days and again on day 7. Measurements were defined as reproducible when they agreed with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) above 0.60; deviation from mean differences was assessed by the coefficient of repeatability (CR = 2 SD). Lung function remained constant throughout the week in all groups. Baseline FE(NO) levels in corticosteroid-naive asthmatic children tended to decrease at the end of the week (from 13.9 ppb, 95% CI 12.2-19.1 to 9.2 ppb, 95% CI 5.8-15.9, p = 0.057). No differences were found between nocturnal and diurnal FE(NO). Within-session reproducibility for two FE(NO) measurements was high (ICC 0.99 in all groups and CR, 0.9 to 1.3 ppb). Between-session FE(NO) reproducibility at 12 hours and 24 hours was still high for each group but decreased markedly after 6 days in corticosteroid-naive asthmatic children (ICC 0.79 and CR 9.6 ppb at 24 hours vs. ICC 0.13 and CR 20.8 ppb after 6 days), whereas it decreased slightly in corticosteroid-treated asthmatics (from ICC 0.89 and CR 3.1 ppb to ICC 0.88 and CR 3.0 ppb) and healthy children (from ICC 0.79 and CR 4.8 ppb to ICC 0.65 and CR 5.7 ppb). In conclusion, in healthy subjects and in asthmatic children receiving therapy with inhaled corticosteroids (but not in corticosteroid-naive subjects), FE(NO) measurements are reproducible across a week

Sleep cyclic alternating pattern analysis in infants with apparent life-threatening events: a daytime polysomnographic study.

Objective: Non-REM sleep is characterized by a physiologic oscillating pattern that exhibits different levels of arousal, coded as cyclic alternating pattern. The aim of this study was to analyze the development of cyclic alternating pattern parameters in a group of infants with apparent life-threatening events. Methods: A total of 26 infants with apparent life-threatening events (14 females, mean age 3.4 months, 2.37 S. D., age range 0.5-9 months) were studied while they slept in the morning between feedings, by means of a 3-h video-electroencephalographic-polygraphic recording. Sleep was visually scored using standard criteria. The control group was composed of 36 healthy infants (16 females, mean age 3.2 months, 2.17 S. D., age range 0.5-9 months). Results: Children with apparent life-threatening events showed an increased frequency of periodic breathing, gastroesofageal reflux and of other risk conditions. They presented also an increased obstructive apnoea/hypopnea index. A full NREM sleep development was found in a significantly smaller percentage of patients, and they showed a significant reduction of the percentage of REM sleep, of cyclic alternating pattern A1 subtypes, an increased percentage of A2 and A3 subtypes and increased index of A2, A3 subtypes and arousal, compared to normal controls. Cyclic alternating pattern rate showed a significant positive correlation with age, only in controls. Conclusions: Our results show a higher level of arousal and an increased non-REM sleep discontinuity in babies with apparent life-threatening events, compared to controls. Significance: The enhanced mechanism of arousal might counteract life-threatening events and represent an important neurophysiologic distinction from future victims of sudden infant death syndrome who also experience similar events. (C) 2011 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Oximetry in obese children with sleep-disordered breathing

Background: Obesity is an important risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), and obese children with OSAS have frequently shown oxygen desaturations when compared with normal-weight children. The aim of our study was to investigate the oximetry characteristics in children with obesity and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Methods: Children referred for suspected OSAS were enrolled in the study. All children underwent sleep clinical record (SCR), pulse oximetry, and polysomnography (PSG). Results: A total of 248 children with SDB were recruited (128 obese and 120 normal-weight children). Obese children showed higher oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and lower nadir oxygen saturation (nadir SaO(2)) compared to non-obese children (p < 0.05). ODI and nadir SaO2 correlated with obesity (p < 0.05). The SCR evaluation showed that deep bite and overjet were more common among obese children (p < 0.05), whereas habitual nasal obstruction and arched palate were more common among non-obese children (p < 0.05). Furthermore, skeletal malocclusion and tonsillar hypertrophy were significant risk factors in obese children associated with severe desaturation (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Obese children with SDB have a more significant oxygen desaturation; adeno-tonsillar hypertrophy is not the only important risk factor for its development but also the presence of malocclusions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Reduced exhaled nitric oxide in children after testing of maximal expiratory pressures

Spirometry in adult subjects can induce a fall in concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO). Scarce information is available on the FENO decrease after spirometry or after other forced lung-function maneuvers in children. We compared changes in FENO induced by repeated spirometry and testing of maximal expiratory pressures (P-Emax). Twenty-four sex- and age-matched children aged 9-18 years (mean age +/- SD, 13.3 +/- 2.8 years; 12 healthy, 12 asthmatic) were allocated to 1-week-apart sessions of repeated maneuvers of either forced vital capacity (FVC) or P-Emax. Baseline FENO measurements were followed by FVC or P-Emax maneuvers every 15 min for 45 min, whereas FENO was measured at each step for 60 min. After repeated P-Emax but not after FVC maneuvers, FENO values decreased significantly from baseline in both groups. In healthy children, geometric mean FENO (95% confidence intervals) decreased from 9.1 (7.0-11.8) ppb at baseline to 8.2 (6.3-10.6) ppb at 15 min and 7.7 (5.6-10.6) ppb at 30 min (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively), and remained unchanged at 45 and 60 min. In asthmatic children, FENO levels fell from 21.6 (13.3-34.9) ppb at baseline to 15.1 (9.1-25.1) ppb at 15 min and remained low at 30, 45, and 60 min: 17.8 (10.7-29.5) ppb, 17.5 (10.2-30.1) ppb, and 17.6 (10.6-29.2) ppb, P < 0.01, for all differences from baseline. Repeated P-Emax and FVC maneuvers increased FENO variability, as compared with repeated FENO measurements alone. Previous forced lung-function maneuvers may affect FENO measurements in children. Although P-Emax testing has a greater influence than spirometry on FENO levels in children, both procedures should be avoided before measuring FENO

Additive effect of eosinophilia and atopy on exhaled nitric oxide levels in children with or without a history of respiratory symptoms

Although atopy and blood eosinophilia both influence exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) measurements, no study has quantified their single or combined effect. We assessed the combined effect of atopy and blood eosinophilia on eNO in unselected schoolchildren. In 356 schoolchildren (boys/girls: 168/188) aged 9.0-11.5 yr, we determined eNO, total serum IgE, blood eosinophil counts and did skin prick tests (SPT) and spirometry. Parents completed a questionnaire on their children's current or past respiratory symptoms. Atopy was defined by a SPT > 3 mm and eosinophilia by a blood cell count above the 80th percentile (>310 cells/ml). eNO levels were about twofold higher in atopic-eosinophilic subjects than in atopic subjects with low blood eosinophils [24.3 p.p.b. (parts per billion) vs. 14.1 p.p.b.] and than non-atopic subjects with high or low blood eosinophils (24.3 p.p.b. vs. 12.2 p.p.b. and 10.9 p.p.b.) (p < 0.001 for both comparisons). The additive effect of atopy and high eosinophil count on eNO levels remained unchanged when subjects were analyzed separately by sex or by a positive history of wheeze (n = 60), respiratory symptoms other than wheeze (n = 107) or without respiratory symptoms (n = 189). The frequency of sensitization to Dermatophagoides (Dpt or Dpf) was similar in atopic children with and without eosinophilia (66.2% and 67.4%, respectively); eosinophilia significantly increased eNO levels in Dp-sensitized children as well in children sensitized to other allergens. In a multiple linear regression analysis, eNO levels were mainly explained by the sum of positive SPT wheals and a high blood eosinophil count (t = 4.8 and 4.3, p = 0.000), but also by the presence of respiratory symptoms (especially wheeze) and male sex (t = 2.6 and 2.0, p = 0.009 and 0.045, respectively). Measuring eNO could be a simple, non-invasive method for identifying subjects at risk of asthma in unselected school populations