Adenotonsillectomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Obese Children

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To study changes in sleep behavior and quality of life in obese children after adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnea. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective study at the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital. METHODS: Children who met inclusion criteria and had a respiratory distress index (RDI) greater than 5 were enrolled in the study and underwent adenotonsillectomy. All children underwent preoperative and postoperative full-night polysomnography. Age- and gender-specific percentile BMI was recorded at the time of polysomnography. Caregivers were asked to complete an OSA-18 quality of life survey prior to polysomnography and a second survey within 6 months of surgery. Scores from preoperative and postoperative polysomnography and OSA-18 surveys were compared using the paired Student's t test. RESULTS: The study population included 30 children. Twenty-six children (86%) were male. The mean age of the children at the time of inclusion in the study was 9.3 years; range, 3.0 to 17.2. The mean preoperative BMI was 28.6 (range, 19.2 to 47.1) and the mean postoperative BMI was 27.9 (range, 17.8 to 27.9). A 2-tailed paired t test showed that this difference is not statistically significant (P = 0.06). The mean preoperative RDI was 30.0 and the mean postoperative RDI was 11.6 (P < 0.001). The preoperative mean total OSA-18 score was 78.2 and the postoperative mean total score was 39.8 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Obese children with OSA who undergo adenotonsillectomy show a marked improvement in RDI and in quality of life with no change in BMI. However, in the majority of children, OSA does not resolve.