Long term results in the life quality of children with obstructive sleep disorders

Abstract

Summary: Obstructive Sleep Disorders (OSD) affect mostly the pediatric population. Within this group, its main etiology is adenotonsillar hyperplasia, being adenoidectomy or adenotonsillectomy the best treatment option for quality of life improvement. Aim: To asses quality of life of children with OSD after adenoidectomy/adenotonsillectomy. Method: A prospective study was carried out with 48 children, between 2 and 11 years, with clinical manifestations of OSD and obstructive adenotonsillar hyperplasia. The OSA18 questionnaire was answered by the parents to evaluate their children’s quality of life before surgery; at about thirty days and at least eleven months after the procedure. A higher score meant a worse quality of life. Results: Before surgery, the average OSA18 score was 82.83(SD=12.57), with an average global score for quality of life of 6.04(SD=1.66). Within thirty days after surgery, the average OSA18 score was 34.3 (SD=9.95) with an average global score of 9.6(SD=0.81), both showing significant reduction (p< 0.001). Thirty-four children (70.83%) were re-evaluated between 11 and 30 months (average=16.85; SD=5.16). The average OSA18 score was 35.44 (SD=19.95) with an average global score of 9.28 (SD=1.78). The postoperative evaluations weren’t significantly different. Conclusion: surgery improves the quality of life of children with OSD, and such improvement maintains for the long run. Keywords: adenoidectomy, quality of life, sleep apnea syndromes