• Olubukola O Nafiu, Constance C Burke, Wilson T Chimbira, Ray Ackwerh, Paul I Reynolds, and Shobha Malviya.
• Section of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0048, USA. onafiu@med.umich.edu
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2011 May 1;28(5):340-5.

ObjectiveTo describe the prevalence of habitual snoring and examine its association with peri-operative adverse events in children undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery--a relationship that has not been previously characterised.MethodsUsing a prospective observational design, we studied children aged 6-18 years undergoing elective non-cardiac surgeries at our institution. Trained research assistants collected clinical (including peri-operative adverse events) and anthropometric data on all individuals. Patients were stratified into two classes, habitual snorers and non-snorers. Subsequently, univariate factors associated with snoring were explored and then odds ratios for the occurrence of peri-operative adverse events were calculated from logistic regression after controlling for clinically relevant cofactors.ResultsAmong 1102 patients, the prevalence of habitual snoring was 27.3% (28.2% for boys vs. 26.3% for girls). All the measured anthropometric parameters (BMI, waist circumference and neck circumference) were significantly higher in habitual snorers compared with non-snorers. The overall respiratory complication rate was 11.1%. Respiratory adverse events were more frequent in habitual snorers compared with non-snorers (16.9 vs. 8.9%; P < 0.001). Additionally, habitual snoring was associated with longer post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) stay (114.0 ± 49.6 vs. 103.6 ± 48.9 min; P = 0.002) even after controlling for the occurrence of adverse respiratory events.ConclusionThe prevalence of habitual snoring was high in this cohort of paediatric surgical patients. Habitual snoring was associated with some peri-operative adverse events and prolonged PACU stay and should be considered an important symptom in the pre-operative review of children.

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