Overnight pulse oximetry in normal children and in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy

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Abstract
This study investigates the hypoxia that has been described during sleep in children admitted for adenotonsillectomy. Two hundred and twenty-two randomly selected children and 33 children awaiting adenotonsillectomy had overnight pulse oximetry performed at home. Children undergoing surgery had a second study in hospital on the eve of surgery and a third at home 3 months post-operation. Analysis of pulse oximetry data failed to detect a clinically significant difference in oxygen saturation levels between these populations. Snoring is reported in 76% of children undergoing adenotonsillectomy and 11% of the normal population. Sleep apnoeic episodes occur in 52% of children prior to surgery compared with 8% of the normal population. Overnight pulse oximetry has failed to differentiate children with symptoms suggestive of obstructive sleep apnoea from the normal population. Its use as a screening procedure should be used with caution until more is known about its ability to predict significant disease.