Beyond adenotonsillectomy: outcomes of sleep endoscopy-directed treatments in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: In this study we determine the subjective and objective outcomes of pediatric patients with refractory OSA undergoing drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE)-directed surgical treatment.

Methods: 31 consecutive children with OSA following TA underwent DISE. 26 completed DISE-directed operative management of the level(s) of ongoing upper airway obstruction. Pre- and postoperative OSA were assessed through a detailed history (of nighttime symptoms (NS) and daytime symptoms (DS)), physical examination, and polysomnography.

Results: Age ranged 5-18 years (mean 9.7 ± 3.4). Fourteen of 26 had trisomy 21 (51%). Operations were performed in the following frequencies: lingual tonsillectomy (LT) (22), midline posterior glossectomy (MPG) (16), revision adenoidectomy (11), inferior turbinate submucosal resection (7), uvulopalatoplasty (2), and supraglottoplasty (2). Overall, 92% reported subjective improvement. NS improved from 5.8 ± 2.9 preoperatively to 2.1 ± 2.5 postoperatively (p<0.05), while DS improved from 2.1 ± 1.3 preoperatively to 0.6 ± 1.1 postoperatively (p<0.05). Seventeen patients completed preoperative polysomnography, while only 11 of them also completed postoperative polysomnography. Mean OAHI fell from 7.0 (±5.8) events/hr to 3.6 (±1.8) events/hr (t-test, p=0.09).

Conclusions: Individualized, multilevel, DISE-directed operative therapy was associated with substantial improvement in subjective measures of sleep.