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Published on: December 6, 2016
Central Sleep Apnea With Sodium Oxybate in a Pediatric Patient
1Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York.
Insights
Sodium oxybate (SO) treatment in a child with narcolepsy type 1 was associated with central apneas. Further research is needed to confirm this link in pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Sleep Medicine
- Pediatric Pulmonology
Background:
- Narcolepsy type 1 is a chronic neurological disorder.
- Sodium oxybate (SO) is a medication used to manage narcolepsy symptoms.
Observation:
- A 12-year-old patient with narcolepsy type 1 developed central apneas after receiving SO.
- Polysomnography revealed central apneas occurring approximately 1.5 hours after the initial SO dose.
Findings:
- The patient experienced an apnea-hypopnea index of 4.3 events/h, exclusively central apneas.
- A reduced second dose of SO led to fewer, milder breathing abnormalities, not meeting apnea criteria.
Implications:
- This case suggests a potential association between SO and central apnea development in pediatric narcolepsy patients.
- Further polysomnographic studies are warranted to investigate this association in the pediatric population.
Abstract:
A 12-year-old girl with normal neurodevelopment and narcolepsy type 1 presented with unexpected central apneas in response to sodium oxybate (SO). The patient underwent overnight polysomnography on SO (2.75 + 2.5 grams) which showed an apnea-hypopnea index of 4.3 events/h, and all the events were central apneas. A majority of central apneas clustered at about 1.5 hours after the first dose of SO. Remarkably, after a second dose of SO that was 0.25 grams smaller, she did not exhibit clusters of central sleep apneas. However, she did experience similar but milder breathing abnormalities that did not meet criteria to be scored as central apneas or hypopneas. Based on this observation, there may be an association between SO treatment and the development of central apnea. Further polysomnographic research on pediatric patients taking SO would help determine if there is a significant association between SO treatment and the development of central apnea in the pediatric population.
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