Obstructive sleep-disordered breathing is associated with cardiovascular disease in adults, and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) has been proposed as a link between the two disorders. We hypothesized that children with sleep-disordered breathing have higher CRP values than do control subjects. CRP was measured in 39 children (mean age +/- SD: 6.9 +/- 3.2 years) without snoring (controls) and in 102 children (6.2 +/- 2.2 years) with habitual snoring who underwent polysomnography. No significant differences were found in mean CRP values between control subjects (0.12 +/- 0.16 mg/dl; n = 39) and snorers with an apnea-hypopnea index of less than 1 episode/hour (0.15 +/- 0.26; n = 18), snorers with an index of 1 or more and less than 5 (0.15 +/- 0.26; n = 54), and snorers with an index of 5 or more (0.22 +/- 0.43; n = 30; p > 0.05). There was no correlation between CRP or log-transformed CRP values and apnea-hypopnea index, respiratory movement/arousal index, Sa(O(2)) nadir, oxygen desaturation (>/= 4%) of hemoglobin index, or percentage of sleep time with saturation less than 95% (p > 0.05). Thus, findings of higher CRP values in adults with sleep-disordered breathing and correlations of these values with polysomnography indices were not confirmed in children.

Nasal corticosteroids improve polysomnography indices but not symptoms in children with mild to moderate sleep-disordered breathing. We hypothesized that administration of nasal corticosteroids for 4 weeks to snoring children with only mild elevation in their apnea-hypopnea index would improve both polysomnography findings and symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing. Budesonide 50 mcg per nostril twice daily was administered for 4 weeks to children (2-14 years old) with habitual snoring and an apnea-hypopnea index of 1-10 episodes/hr. Subjects were evaluated before treatment and at 2 weeks and 9 months after its completion. Primary outcome variables were changes in apnea-hypopnea index and symptom score. Twenty-seven children were studied. At 2 weeks, the mean apnea-hypopnea index decreased from 5.2 (+/-2.2) episodes/hr to 3.2 (+/-1.5) episodes/hr, and median oxygen desaturation of hemoglobin index fell from 3.1 (0.4-8.2) to 1.9 (0.2-5.4) (P < 0.0001). Mean symptom score was 1.33 (+/-2.11) at baseline, and decreased to -0.008 (+/-2.24) at 2 weeks after treatment and to -1.08 (+/-1.75) at 9 months after treatment (P < 0.05). Four weeks of nasal budesonide improved both polysomnography findings and symptoms in children with mild sleep-disordered breathing. The clinical effect is maintained for several months after treatment.

Viral croup is a frequent disease in early childhood. Although it is usually self-limited, it may occasionally become life-threatening. Mild croup is characterized by the presence of stridor without intercostal retractions, whereas moderate-to-severe croup is accompanied by increased work of breathing. A single dose of orally administered dexamethasone (0.15-0.6 mg/kg) is the mainstay of treatment with addition of nebulized epinephrine only in cases of moderate-to-severe croup. Nebulized budesonide (2 mg) can be given alternatively to children who do not tolerate oral dexamethasone. Exposure to cold air or administration of cool mist are treatment interventions for viral croup that are not supported by published evidence, but breathing heliox can potentially reduce the work of breathing related to upper airway obstruction. In summary, corticosteroids may decrease the intensity of viral croup symptoms irrespective to their severity on presentation to the emergency department.