Adenotonsillectomy (AT) to improve obstructive sleep disordered breathing (oSDB) is a common paediatric surgical procedure. Children living with obesity have both an increased risk of oSDB and a higher perioperative risk. We aimed to establish whether AT in children with severe obesity improves clinical symptoms, and whether this correlates with quantifiable sleep studies. A secondary outcome was preoperative change in BMI z-score amongst children attending a specialist anaesthetic clinic. A retrospective electronic notes review over a 2-year period identified children 2-16 years living with 'severe' obesity undergoing AT for oSDB. Demographic data, BMI and BMI z-score were collated preoperatively and at surgery. Pre- and postoperative quantifiable sleep study data and clinical episodes were examined. Postoperative AHI < 5/ODI4 < 4/h or clinical symptom resolution was considered 'curative'. A total of 1007 tonsillectomies were performed for oSDB; 55 met inclusion criteria and 30 underwent preoperative sleep studies. Age ranged from 3 to 15 years (mean 8.7, SD 3.3) with a 2:1 ratio of males to females. Nine children (34.6%) underwent both pre- and postoperative studies with ODI4/AHI ranges of 0.5-121.2/h and 0-9.3/h, respectively. Overall 'cure' rate was 42.3%, with postoperative sleep studies confirming clinical findings. Preoperative mean BMI z-score was +3.83 (SD 1.19) with significant reduction at the time of surgery (-0.17, SD 0.29; p = 0.004) following lifestyle intervention (mean 6.0 months; SD 11.7 weeks). Over half of severely obese children undergoing AT had residual postoperative oSDB symptoms. Sleep studies might identify those benefitting from further intervention. Findings support the effectiveness of preoperative lifestyle intervention, but the impact on symptoms and surgical timing should be further delineated.
Burton et al. (2025) studied this question.