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Minerva Psichiatrica 2008 December;49(4):307-20

Copyright © 2008 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Cognitive and behavioral change after adenotonsillectomy in children with sleep-disordered breathing. A review

Hodges E. K., Bloomfield E., Coulas T., Giordani B.

Neuropsychology Section University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

A number of research investigations have examined the association between pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cognitive and behavioral problems. The most common reason for obstructed sleep in children is adenotonsillar hypertrophy and, as such, adenotonsillectomy (AT) has become the treatment of choice in children with OSA. Although many investigations have examined behavioral changes after AT, there are few studies that include neuropsychological functioning as an outcome variable. Of those that exist, most report postoperative improvement in their primary sleep symptoms, as well as the neuropsychological functioning. This paper focuses on the pathophysiology, epidemiology, diagnostic assessment, and treatment of pediatric OSA, and provides a comprehensive review of research findings on behavioral and cognitive outcomes. The studies presented here were collected through Literature searches of Medline, Pubmed and Psycinfo databases. The studies presented in this paper demonstrate the significant positive effects of AT on OSA, behavior and neuropsychological functioning in pediatric patients.