Pilot study on the validity of the pupillographic sleepiness test in children and adolescents

ObjectiveTo report preliminary validation data for the pupillographic sleepiness test (PST) in children and adolescents.MethodsTwelve patients (13.1 ± 4.4 years of age) underwent the multiple sleep latency test (MLST) and three PSTs at 09:00, 11:00, and 13:00 on one single day. Correlations were tested between mean sleep latency and gender-adjusted z-values of the natural logarithm of the pupillary unrest index (zlnPUI).ResultsSpearman’s correlation (P-value) between the zlnPUI values obtained at 09:00 and 11:00 with the MSL was rS = −0.641 (0.025) and r = −0.553 (0.062).ConclusionThere was satisfactory agreement between PST and the MLST, which is similar to what is found in adults. The PST may be promising for the evaluation of daytime sleepiness in children and adolescents, and should be further evaluated in future studies.