Schlafbezogene Atmungsstörungen im Kindesalter

Abstract

Sleep-related breathing disorders in children are common. Nearly 10% of preschool-aged children snore, and 1% of 4- to 5-year-old children present with an obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), mostly due to an adenotonsillar hyperplasia. OSAS in children differs markedly from adults concerning etiology, clinical symptoms, polysomnographic findings, and course of the disease. Therefore, results of adult sleep medicine cannot easily be applied to children. The disease may result in pulmonary or systemic hypertension, failure to thrive, and neurocognitive misbehavior. Up to now, there is no consensus concerning diagnosis and therapy. In this article, we summarize and discuss what is known so far about sleep-related breathing disorders in children, focussing on the OSAS as the most important diagnosis for the ENT specialist.

Kindliches OSAS und Seromukotympanon

“…In der Pathophysiologie des kindlichen obstruktiven Schlafapnoe-Syndroms (OSAS; [10]) ist ein erhöhter Widerstand in den oberen Atemwegen grundlegender Faktor. Dieser kann durch eine Weichgewebshyperplasie, insbesondere eine adenotonsilläre Hyperplasie, aber auch durch kraniofaziale Fehlbildungen hervorgerufen werden [12].…”