Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a commonly encountered medical
problem in the pediatric patient population with varying ranges of severity including
primary snoring, upper airway resistance syndrome and obstructive sleep
apnea/hypopnea syndrome. While many clinicians are aware of certain risk factors that
predispose children to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, the prompt identification of all
patients at risk for each of these syndromes is imperative. Clinicians currently use a
combination of clinical indicators and polysomnographic data to diagnose children who
may fall into the SDB spectrum. Without prompt diagnosis, a child be subject to
multiple neurocognitive deficits, which may have been ameliorated by treatment. The
appropriate treatment for obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome has traditionally
been thought to be surgical, however, the ability to properly categorize children into the
above spectrum of disorders will help a practitioner evaluate each patient individually
and determine if surgery or other treatments are appropriate for a particular patient.
Keywords: Sleep disordered breathing, obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea
syndrome, upper airway resistance syndrome, snoring, polysomnogram, home
sleep study, adenotonsillectomy.