Asynchronous breathing during sleep

Background-Children rarely complain of symptoms associated with sleep disor dered breathing (SDB). Paradoxical inward rib cage movement (PIRCM) during sleep might prove useful for detecting SDB. Aims-(1) To determine the correlation between the degree of PIRCM and other measures of disordered breathing during sleep. PIRCM occurs physiologicall y throughout rapid eye movement sleep in neonates, while no PIRCM has been reported during sleep in adolescents. (2) To determine the chronological ch anges in the degree of PIRCM. Methods-PIRCM was quantified by means of the laboured breathing index (LBI) . LBI was determined by respiratory inductive plethysmography; PIRCM accomp anies a high LBI. Sleep recordings obtained for 101 subjects for various re asons (aged from 3.5 months to 19 years) were analysed. Results-In 22 records, the minimum Sao, value was 90% or more and no obstru ctive apnoea of more than 10 seconds was observed. In these 22 records, LBI during rapid eye movement sleep decreased significantly with age, reaching the mature low level at 3.3 years of age. In the other 79 records, LBI cor related well with measures of obstructed breathing during sleep. Conclusions-By paying more attention to PIRCM, more obstructed breathing du ring sleep might be found among children aged 3 years or more.