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Clinical predictors of sleep disordered breathing in children at moderate altitude

Juan Carlos Vázquez1, Francisco Marentes Montes, Carlos Aboitiz Rivera

  • 1Departamento de Fisiología Respiratoria y Laboratorio de Sueño, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias (INER), Secretaría de Salud (SSA), Mexico City, Mexico. jcvaz@mexis.com

Archives of Medical Research
|January 6, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Validated clinical indicators for childhood sleep disordered breathing (SDB) are limited, especially at moderate altitudes. This study identified key predictors like age, obesity, and enlarged tonsils in children with SDB.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Respiratory Physiology
  • Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

  • Validated clinical indicators for childhood sleep disordered breathing (SDB) are scarce.
  • Moderate altitude environments may increase hypoxemic complications, making oximetry evaluation efficient.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify clinical predictors of SDB in children evaluated at moderate altitude.
  • To assess the utility of pulse oximetry in diagnosing SDB in this population.

Main Methods:

  • 158 children with suspected sleep apnea in Mexico City (2240 m) underwent clinical evaluation.
  • Nocturnal monitoring included pulse oximetry, snoring, and body position tracking.

Main Results:

  • 84% of children had >5 desaturations/hour; 63% had >10; 34% had >20.
  • Predictors for >10 desaturations included age ≤5 years, obesity, enlarged tonsils, and male gender.
  • Witnessed apneas, age ≤5 years, obesity, and enlarged adenoids/tonsils predicted >20 desaturations.

Conclusions:

  • Age, gender, witnessed apneas, enlarged tonsils/adenoids, and obesity are clinical predictors of SDB in children at moderate altitude.
  • These findings aid in identifying children needing further sleep evaluation.
Abstract

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