Cognitive and behavioral after adenotonsillectomy in apnea syndrome obstructive sleep childhood

• Published in: Sleep medicine 2013-12, Vol.14, p.e156-e156
• Main Authors: Esteller, E, Segarra, F, Barceló, M, Girabent, M, Roure, N, Estivill, E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Neurology; Sleep Medicine
• ISSN: 1389-9457; 1878-5506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2013.11.358

Introduction Adenotonsillectomy is an effective treatment for paediatric obstructive sleep apnea. Your ability to resolve the cognitive and behavioral problems arising is not so clear. Objective: To analyze the evolution of these alterations to a year after surgery. Materials and methods We studied behavioral and cognitive abnormalities of 45 children with OSA and 30 healthy controls, between 3 and 13 years. Both groups are analyzed using psychological tests, at baseline and one year. Results Preoperatively, all cognitive and behavioral variables were more affected in the study group than in the control. Attention in 46.7% of cases in the study group and 20% in the control group ( p = 0.016), anxiety 60.9% and 40.9% (not significant); Memory 55.6% and 36.7% ( p = 0.019); spatial structuring 64.4% and 36.7% ( p = 0.017); Hyperactivity 42.9% and 12.5% ( p = 0.016) and Attention Deficit 46.4% and 8.3 % ( p = 0.003). After one year the study group remains the more affected in all the study variables, although significant differences remain only in spatial structure (31.3% versus 3.3%, p = 0.017) and Attention Deficit (40.5% versus 16.7%, p = 0.031). The percentages of patients who improved at one year are not significantly different in both groups. Conclusion The cognitive and behavioral disorders of children with sleep apnea are partially resolved with adenotonsillectomy. The improvements obtained in the variables did not differ significantly in the normal evolution of the children and are independent of the resolution of respiratory disorders.