Short Technology Assessment: Diagnosis of Sleep Disorders in Children (MED project)

​Written for the Medicaid Evidence-based Decisions Project (MED).

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has defined obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children as "a disorder of breathing during sleep characterized by prolonged partial upper airway obstruction and/or intermittent complete obstruction (obstructive apnea) that disrupts normal ventilation during sleep and normal sleep patterns." Symptoms include habitual (nightly) snoring, sleep difficulties, and daytime neurobehavioral problems. Growth abnormalities, neurologic disorders, behavioral problems, and cor pulmonale (hypertrophy and dilation of the right ventricle associated with lung disease), especially in severe cases, may all be a consequence of OSAS in children. Adenotonsillar hypertrophy and obesity are risk factors for the development of OSAS in children. The prevalence rate of OSAS in children is thought to be around...