Hi all,

I'm Dee, mum to an ex 25 weeker who recently had a sleep study undertaken, the written report arrived stating that my son has severe osa, when supine he was noted to have an average of 17 apnoea's in an hour.  However there was also a period where Connor wasn't snoring, wasn't laid on his back where his SA02 levels were low, and abnormal breathing patterns seen. (He does still have some lung issues going on)  

Tonsils and adenoids were removed two weeks later, and a week after the operation he was only maintaining sat's of 88 in 0.5l of 02.  Shortly after this he had a major re-bleed and ended up back in hospital having to have the operation site resealed.

Anyhow part of the written report that we have from the hospital states that Connor's CO2 was raised to 70mmHg (9.3).  His resp rate was reduced to 12 breathes per minuite below normal limits for a child his age, with a heart rate at the upper limit of normal.  

This is going to sound like a really silly question but I really don't understand this, does this mean anything to anyone else and silly as it sounds am I right in thinking that perhaps there was/is something more than just the CSA going on?  We don't as yet have a date for another sleep study.

Thanks in anticipation

Hi Dee,

How old is Connor?  What other type of lung problems is he still having from being a preemie?  Has he been evaluated for any neuro issues from being a preemie?  My 7yo Christina has OSA (her initial AHI was 28), her adenoids were removed and she is now a cpap kid.  

I have only being doing the apnea thing for a few months, so I am not an expert, but it sounds like there is something else going on with Connor.  I would continue to press for an answer from the drs.  When our Neuro said her apnea was cured by the adenoid removal I said "prove it".........her AHI was 8 and her 02 went down to 80%.  If you as Connor's mom thinks something is wrong don't let them tell you otherwise without proof.....mom's do know best.

Tatamom

Hi Tatamom,

Thanks for your reply, Connor is almost 8, and his lungs were pretty badly damaged when he was first born, he has extensive scarring to all four lobes of his lungs, and his upper right lobe is shrunken and pretty badly damaged - full lung function showed 35-40% lung capacity.  So he's still an 02 babe because of the lung isses, I had hoped that once the OSA was sorted we would lose the 02 - wishful thinking maybe!

About 4 years ago he had an MRI done, and this showed up some damage to the rear of his brain, although he doesn't have CP he does have some motor skill issues along with a learning difficulties, but I've been led to believe the LD is more to do with the wiring of his brain.  I've also been led to believe because of some muscle testing that Connor had done, that there are some damaged areas of his brain stem.

This is all so confusing isn't it, trying to get to the bottom of where it all fits together!

Thanks again

Hi Dee

It sounds like Connor is a special kid, and a very tough one.  Did his study say what type of apneas he was having?  Central apneas are when the brain forgets to send the signal to breath, and obstructive ones are when the brain tells you to breath but you can't get any air because there is a blockage in the way (possibly the tongue falling back in the throat), and then there are hypopneas (Chris has tons of these) when the airflow is partially blocked so you are taking a slow shallow breath....but still moving air just not very effectively.

From what you have said about Connor, I would bet there are more things going on than just apnea.  I hope you can find a good dr who can sort it all out and help him out.

Hang in there,

Tatamom

Hi Tatamom

The report says re-current episodes of hypopnoea, and reverse breathing, lowest sat's of 80%

Now the T&A's have gone I'm going to ask for another study to be done, to see if the problem has been solved or do I have a whole new load of jargonese to learn.  

hello & welcome
Usually a T&A is followed by another sleep study to re-evaluate how effective the operation was.  As for the question about CO2...
CO2 is monitored in pediatric sleep studies often because sometimes kids have problems with having excess carbon dioxide which is residually left over when breathing and can affect the drive to breath.  Anything over 50mmHG is usually considered to be high.  
Good luck
tim