OVERNIGHT PULSE OXIMETRY IN NORMAL-CHILDREN AND IN CHILDREN UNDERGOING ADENOTONSILLECTOMY

This study investigates the hypoxia that has been described during sle ep in children admitted for adenotonsillectomy. Two hundred and twenty -two randomly selected children and 33 children awaiting adenotonsille ctomy had overnight pulse oximetry performed at home. Children undergo ing 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 dat a failed to detect a clinically significant difference in oxygen satur ation levels between these populations. Snoring is reported in 76% of children undergoing adenotonsillectomy and 11% of the normal populatio n. Sleep apnoeic episodes occur in 52% of children prior to surgery co mpared with 8% of the normal population. Overnight pulse oximetry has failed to differentiate children with symptoms suggestive of obstructi ve sleep apnoea from the normal population. Its use as a screening pro cedure should be used with caution until more is known about its abili ty to predict significant disease.