I thought that this report might be of interest to parents.

Daniel.


Jan 10, 2008 - MedWire News: Obesity, being African American, and rapid increase in body mass index (BMI) all independently increase the risk for recurrence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children after adenotonsillectomy, according to US researchers.

Adenotonsillectomy is the most common surgical procedure performed in children, and over half of all procedures are undertaken in order to relieve the symptoms of SDB.

Research has suggested that obese children with SDB have a less favorable response to surgery than non-obese children, but neither the long-term outcome nor the factors that contribute to the recurrence of SDB after surgery are well understood.

Raouf Amin (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ohio) and colleagues investigated the 1-year recurrence of SDB after adenotonsillectomy and its effect on blood pressure in 70 children (7-13 years; 40 with SDB and 30 controls).

Children were evaluated at four time points: before adenotonsillectomy, and 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year after the operation. At each evaluation they underwent polysomnographic assessment and physical examination to document weight, height, blood pressure, and BMI.

The team found that speed of increase in body mass index, body mass index, and being African American were equally strong predictors of the risk for SDB recurrence, at odds ratios of 4-6 per unit BMI gain per year, 1.4 per unit BMI, and 15 versus being White, respectively.

In addition, the group with recurrence of SDB after 1 year had significantly higher systolic blood pressure at 1 year than at baseline and compared with children without recurrence.

The authors conclude in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine: “We advocate long-term follow-up of children with SDB, monitoring of BMI gain, and re-evaluation of children who demonstrate rapid BMI gain, especially those who are African American.”

Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2008; Advance online publication

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The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)