Gastroesophageal reflux and obstructive sleep apnea in childhood

SummaryObjectivesTo examine the relationship between gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) with polysomnographic alterations and symptom severity.Patients and methodsEighteen children aged from 6 to 12 years (8.14 ± 1.75) with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and OSAS were evaluated with the OSA-18 questionnaire nasofibrolaringoscopy and full overnight polysomnography performed simultaneously with esophageal pH monitoring.ResultsOSAS (Apnea-index (AI) ≥ 1/hour) was present in all cases. Reflux parameters did not correlate to OSAS severity and a temporal relationship between GER and apnea–hypopnea events was not observed. Body mass index was lower than 18 in 9 cases (52.9%) and 7 children (41.1%) presented a history of abnormal behavior during sleep. In most cases oxygen desaturation and reduction of sleep efficiency were mild. Sleep architecture was similar to the young adult pattern. Seven children (41.1%) presented pH monitoring values below 4 during more than 10% of total sleep time. pH monitoring values were correlated to emotional distress (p = 0.008) and to daytime problems (p = 0.03) as evaluated by the OSA-18.ConclusionsGER is frequent and should be assessed in children from 6 to 12 years with OSAS. Emotional distress and daytime problems are correlated to increased GER severity.