Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Children With Craniofacial Syndromes

Objective To assess the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a cohort of children with craniofacial syndromes (CFS) within a single institution, and to describe their polysomnographic (PSG) characteristics and the overall management of OSA in this cohort. Design A single-center retrospective study. Electronic healthcare records were used to access information regarding medical history, surgical history, and PSG details of patients with CFS. Setting This study took place at a tertiary care center affiliated with a school of medicine. Patient, Participants Patients with CFS under the age of 18 years with PSG data were assessed. Interventions No intervention was performed as it was retrospective study. Main Outcome Measures Obstructive sleep apnea prevalence among children with CFS. Results A total of 46 patients were included in this study. In our study, 69.6% of the children with CFS had OSA, with 39.1% of them classified as severe. We performed mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO) to treat 26.5% of patients with OSA. The prevalence of OSA was 93.8% among a total of 16 Pierre Robin Sequence (PRS) patients. MDO substantially decreased apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), rapid eye movement AHI, and EtCO2 in PRS patients while simultaneously increasing SpO2 and total sleep time. Conclusions Obstructive sleep apnea is more prevalent in children with CFS than was previously recognized, and MDO is the most frequently employed treatment. Pierre Robin Sequence is the most prevalent pediatric CFS associated with OSA. Mandibular distraction osteogenesis significantly improves OSA and sleep quality in PRS patients.