Assessment of Sleep-Related Problems in Children with Cerebral Palsy Using the SNAKE Sleep Questionnaire
Larissa Alice Dreier,
Tugba Kapanci,
Katharina Lonnemann,
Margarete Koch-Hogrebe,
Lucia Wiethoff-Ubrig,
Markus Rauchenzauner,
Markus Blankenburg,
Boris Zernikow,
Julia Wager,
Kevin Rostasy
Affiliations
Larissa Alice Dreier
Department of Children’s Pain Therapy and Paediatric Palliative Care, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Tugba Kapanci
Department of Pediatric Neurology, Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital Datteln, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Katharina Lonnemann
Department of Pediatric Neurology, Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital Datteln, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Margarete Koch-Hogrebe
Department of Pediatric Neurology, Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital Datteln, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Lucia Wiethoff-Ubrig
Department of Pediatric Neurology, Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital Datteln, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Markus Rauchenzauner
Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Kaufbeuren, 87600 Kaufbeuren, Germany
Markus Blankenburg
Department of Children’s Pain Therapy and Paediatric Palliative Care, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Boris Zernikow
Department of Children’s Pain Therapy and Paediatric Palliative Care, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Julia Wager
Department of Children’s Pain Therapy and Paediatric Palliative Care, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Kevin Rostasy
Department of Pediatric Neurology, Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital Datteln, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
Cerebral palsy (CP) represents the most common motor impairment in childhood. The presence of sleep problems has not yet been investigated with an instrument specifically designed for this population. In this hospital-based, prospective study, N = 100 children (M = 7.9, range: 2–18 years) with CP were included. All patients underwent pediatric neurologists’ screening incorporating instruments (Data Collection Form; Gross Motor Functions Classification System, GMFCS; Bimanual Fine Motor Function, BFMF) recommended by the “Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe (SCPE)”. Parents completed the “Sleep Questionnaire for Children with Severe Psychomotor Impairment (SNAKE)”. Children’s sleep behavior was increasingly conspicuous, with greater gross motor (SNAKE scales: disturbances remaining asleep, daytime sleepiness) and fine motor (additionally SNAKE scale arousal and breathing problems) functional impairment. Overall, a proportion of children showed sleep behavior outside the SNAKE’s normal range. No relevant sleep differences were identified between different CP subtypes and comorbidities. Applying a population-specific questionnaire, children’s functional impairment seems to be more relevant to their sleep behavior than the CP subtype or CP comorbidities.
