Quality of Life for Children with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Abstract

The caregivers of 61 eligible children (6 months to 12 years old) completed a 20-item (OSA-20) health-related quality-of-life survey after polysomnography was performed to psychometrically validate the OSA-20. Excellent test-retest reliability was obtained for the individual survey items (R>0.74). Construct validity was shown by significant correlation of the mean survey score with the respiratory distress index (R = 0.43) and adenoid size (R = 0.43). Two items with poor validity were dropped, reducing the survey to 18 items (OSA-18). The relationship between the OSA-18 summary score and respiratory distress index remained significant when adjusted for tonsil size, adenoid size, body mass index, and child age. On the basis of the total survey score, the impact of OSAS on quality of life was small for 20 children (33%), moderate for 19 (31%), and large for 22 (36%). The OSA-18 is a practical means of office-based determination of quality-of-life impact for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children.

Impaired right ventricular function in adenotonsillar hypertrophy

“…The gold standard for the assesment of the presence and severity of obstructive symptoms is polysomnographic study [32]. However, it was reported that OSA-18 is a practical and reliable method and has shown validity for detecting change and evaluating quality of life after adenotonsillectomy in children with OSA [17][18][19].…”

“…It has been well-known that the OSA-18 have a high level of test-retest reliability, validity, and responsiveness in OSA syndrome and has also shown validity for detecting change and evaluating quality of life after adenotonsillectomy in children with OSA syndrome [17][18][19]. This instrument, which contains an 18-item quality of life survey, was filled out by parents on a 7-point scale from ''none'' to ''all of the time''.…”

“…Parents completed questionnaires the quality of life in children with obstructive sleep disorder questionnaire for the quantitative assessment of the quality of life in children with advanced stage of ATH, parents were asked to fill a questionnaire (OSA-18) [17].…”

Acoustic rhinometry in pediatric sleep apnea

“…Clinical information regarding patient history was reported by a parent or responsible guardian. An 18-item quality of life questionnaire (OSA-18), specifically designed for the pediatric population, was used to identify OSA risk factors and document the relevant history [13]. After the initial clinical assessment, 20 children completed AR measurements and overnightattended PSG.…”

Neurocognitive abilities in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy

“…Daytime somnolence, fatigue, headaches, poor appetite, short attention span are caused by constant hypoxia and frequent arousals [14,16,19]. Moreover respiratory disorders and frequent infections of upper respiratory tract appear in children with sleep-disordered breathing [1,3,5,6,10]. Sleep apnea may lead to failure to thrive and to physical and mental delay in development, including cognitive disturbances [12,20].…”