• Ron B Mitchell and James Kelly.
• Department of Surgery, Health Sciences Center, University of New Mexico, USA. rbmitchell@vcu.edu
• Int. J. Pediatr. Otorhinolaryngol. 2004 Nov 1; 68 (11): 1375-9.

ObjectiveTo study changes in sleep behavior and quality of life in children after adenotonsillectomy for severe obstructive sleep apnea identified by a respiratory distress index > or = 30.MethodsChildren enrolled in the study underwent adenotonsillectomy and had both pre- and post-operative polysomnography. Caregivers also completed an OSA-18 quality of life survey prior to polysomnography and within 6 months of surgery. Paired Student's t-tests were used to compare pre- and post-operative scores.ResultsThe study population included 29 children. The mean age was 7.1 years (range 1.4-17.0). The most common comorbidities were obesity, asthma and allergic disease. The mean pre-operative RDI was 63.9 and the mean post-operative RDI was 14.2 (P < .0001). The mean total OSA-18 score before surgery was 77.6 and after surgery was 33.2. The differences in pre- and post-operative OSA-18 total scores and domain scores were significant (P < .0001).ConclusionChildren with severe OSA who undergo adenotonsillectomy show a significant improvement in RDI and in quality of life over a period of several months after surgery. However, OSA does not resolve in the majority of these children and post-operative PSG is recommended to identify those who may require additional therapy.

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