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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Feb;135(2):e477-86.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-0620. Epub 2015 Jan 19.

Quality of life and obstructive sleep apnea symptoms after pediatric adenotonsillectomy

Susan L Garetz  1 , Ron B Mitchell  2 , Portia D Parker  3 , Reneé H Moore  4 , Carol L Rosen  5 , Bruno Giordani  6 , Hiren Muzumdar  7 , Shalini Paruthi  8 , Lisa Elden  9 , Paul Willging  10 , Dean W Beebe  11 , Carole L Marcus  12 , Ronald D Chervin  13 , Susan Redline  14
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Quality of life and obstructive sleep apnea symptoms after pediatric adenotonsillectomy

Susan L Garetz et al. Pediatrics. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Data from a randomized, controlled study of adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) were used to test the hypothesis that children undergoing surgery had greater quality of life (QoL) and symptom improvement than control subjects. The objectives were to compare changes in validated QoL and symptom measurements among children randomized to undergo adenotonsillectomy or watchful waiting; to determine whether race, weight, or baseline OSAS severity influenced changes in QoL and symptoms; and to evaluate associations between changes in QoL or symptoms and OSAS severity.

Methods: Children aged 5 to 9.9 years with OSAS (N = 453) were randomly assigned to undergo adenotonsillectomy or watchful waiting with supportive care. Polysomnography, the Pediatric Quality of Life inventory, the Sleep-Related Breathing Scale of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire, the 18-item Obstructive Sleep Apnea QoL instrument, and the modified Epworth Sleepiness Scale were completed at baseline and 7 months. Changes in the QoL and symptom surveys were compared between arms. Effect modification according to race and obesity and associations between changes in polysomnographic measures and QoL or symptoms were examined.

Results: Greater improvements in most QoL and symptom severity measurements were observed in children randomized to undergo adenotonsillectomy, including the parent-completed Pediatric Quality of Life inventory (effect size [ES]: 0.37), the 18-item Obstructive Sleep Apnea QoL instrument (ES: -0.93), the modified Epworth Sleepiness Scale score (ES: -0.42), and the Sleep-Related Breathing Scale of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (ES: -1.35). Effect modification was not observed by obesity or baseline severity but was noted for race in some symptom measures. Improvements in OSAS severity explained only a small portion of the observed changes.

Conclusions: Adenotonsillectomy compared with watchful waiting resulted in significantly more improvements in parent-rated generic and OSAS-specific QoL measures and OSAS symptoms.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00560859.

Keywords: adenotonsillectomy; obstructive sleep apnea; pediatric; quality of life.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Summary of differences in QoL and OSAS symptom score changes in the eAT and WWSC arms. Absolute values were used when change scores were negative to facilitate comparisons of effect magnitude. *P < .01 for difference between arms, adjusted for site, race, age, obese (<95 or >95 BMI percentile), gender, maternal education (less than high school, high school or higher, or missing), income (>$30 000, ≤$30 000, or missing), log baseline AHI, and baseline outcome variable.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Insights into Selected Aspects of Pediatric Sleep Medicine.
    Gileles-Hillel A, Philby MF, Lapping-Carr G. Gileles-Hillel A, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2015 Jun 15;191(12):1459-61. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201502-0279RR. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2015. PMID: 26075424 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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