THURSDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Conducting sleep studies
of children before removing their tonsils and adenoids
(adenotonsillectomy) may help identify those at increased risk for
postoperative respiratory complications, a new study suggests.
U.S. researchers analyzed the medical records of 1,131 children
who underwent adenotonsillectomy at a pediatric hospital. Of the
151 patients who took part in a sleep study (polysomnography)
before surgery, 23 (15.2 percent) experienced respiratory
complications after surgery.
The sleep studies showed that the children who suffered
postoperative respiratory complications scored significantly higher
on the apnea-hypopnea index, which rates the overall severity of
sleep apnea, including sleep disruptions or low levels of oxygen in
the blood.
These children also scored higher on the hypopnea index
(episodes of overly shallow breathing or abnormally low respiratory
rates) and had lower nadir oxygen saturation (the lowest level of
oxygen saturation), said Dr. Eric M. Jaryszak, of the George
Washington University School of Medicine, and colleagues.
The children who suffered respiratory complications also had a
higher body-mass index (a measurement that takes into account
height and weight) and were more likely to be obese than patients
who did not have complications -- 47.8 percent vs. 29.7 percent,
respectively.
The researchers also found that children who experienced
respiratory complications spent an additional 22 days in the
hospital, according to the study published in the January issue of
the
Archives of Otolaryngology --Head and Neck Surgery.
"Polysomnographic data may potentially be used for predicting which patients are at higher risk for adverse respiratory events after adenotonsillectomy," the authors concluded in a journal news release. "Such knowledge is valuable in planning postoperative management and perhaps intraoperative anesthesia management."
More information
The American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery
has more about
adenoids and tonsils.