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Sleep apnoea in children

Authoring team

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in children consists in a wide spectrum of respiratory disorders, which are commonly characterized by upper airway increased resistance, with pulmonary ventilation temporary interruption and sleep quality alteration. (1)

  • SDB clinically related conditions vary from simple snoring to more complex manifestation, such as the Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSAS).

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a condition with prolonged partial obstruction and/or intermittent complete obstruction of the upper airway that adversely affects ventilation during sleep resulting in an interruption of normal sleep patterns (2)

  • it can be due to either an anatomical obstruction in the pharyngeal airway or a reduction of pharyngeal muscle tone, or a combination of both

OSA in children differs from adult OSA since it has completely different clinical features and requires different management strategies (2)

Reference:

(1) Giuca MR, et al. Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Emerging Evidence and Treatment Approach. ScientificWorldJournal. 2021 Apr 23;2021:5591251.

(2) Powell S et al. Paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea. BMJ. 2010;340:c1918

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