Screening for obstructive sleep apnea in children treated at a major craniofacial center

Timely diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with craniofacial disorders may help prevent long-term adverse sequelae of upper airway obstruction, namely pulmonary hypertension, failure to thrive, and impaired neurocognitive development. Currently, little is known about the incidence of OSA in this high-risk population. A prospective study examining the incidence of positive screening for OSA in patients cared for by the craniofacial team at a large, urban referral center was performed. From January 2011 to August 2013, all patient families were asked to complete the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire. This validated tool has a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 87% in predicting a positive sleep study when the ratio of positive-total responses is 0.33 or greater. Screening results were evaluated via Chi-squared and Fisher tests according to demographic and clinical variables. A total of 234 children seen in our craniofacial clinic completed the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire. The mean screening age was 8.38 years, and 47% were male (110/234). Total incidence of positive OSA screening was 28.2% (66/234). Of the total population, 128 patients had an underlying syndrome (54.7%), whereas 106 patients were nonsyndromic (45.3%). Both groups were at equivalent risk for screening positive for OSA (28.1% versus 28.3%, P = 1.0). Among children with a craniofacial diagnosis, patients with a cleft lip and/or palate were at equivalent risk for screening positive for OSA as patients without a cleft (25.5% versus 32.6%, P = 0.24). The OSA symptoms affect almost one third of patients seen by our craniofacial team. Syndromic and nonsyndromic patients seem to be at equivalent risk as those patients with and without an oropharyngeal cleft. Future work will correlate these findings with formal polysomnography and may serve to heighten awareness of OSA in this at-risk population.