Affiliation:
1. Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Jacobs School Medicine and Biomedical Sciences The State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo New York USA
Abstract
AbstractObjectiveTo compare patterns of obstruction in infants and toddlers with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by analyzing drug‐induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) examinations.Study DesignRetrospective chart review.SettingAn academic tertiary care pediatric hospital at a single institution.MethodsChildren aged ≤3 years who underwent DISE with propofol titration from 2020 to 2022 were included in the study. Data extracted included age, body mass index, comorbidities, and polysomnography parameters. The sites of anatomic obstruction during DISE were recorded using a validated 10‐site scoring system.ResultsA total of 86 children underwent DISE, including 15 infants (<1 year) and 71 toddlers (>1≤3 years). Sixty‐two percent were male and 37% were female. The mean age of the infant group was 9.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.92, 11.28 months), and the mean age of the toddler group was 2.3 years (95% CI: 2.06, 2.50 years). The mean total number of sites of obstruction was not significantly different between infants (N = 2.5) and toddlers (N = 3.2, P = .086). The most common subsite of significant obstruction in both infants and toddlers was the aryepiglottic folds (46.7% and 36.8%, respectively; P = .578). The sites of obstruction and frequency of their occurrence were not significantly different between the 2 groups.ConclusionMultisite airway obstruction is common among children with OSA, especially at the epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds, and tongue base. There is no difference in sites of obstruction and their frequency between toddlers and infants.