Recognizing sleep disorders in children

  Children’s sleep is mainly expressed as deep sleep, and the deep sleep period is closely related to the secretion of growth hormone, so sleep is extremely important for children’s growth and development. Sleep snoring in children with obstructive sleep apnea hypoventilation syndrome is a warning of the existence of sleep disorders, which should cause parents and physicians to fully understand.  Children with obstructive sleep apnea hypoventilation syndrome have disrupted sleep structure, reduced secretion of growth stimulating hormone, poor mental performance during the day, poor appetite and insufficient caloric intake of food, which may lead to growth retardation, lower height and weight than normal children of the same age, and lower physical resistance; it also affects brain development, cognitive ability and intelligence development, inattentiveness, aggressiveness and hyperactivity, and significantly lower academic performance.  One of the main causes of obstructive sleep apnea hypoventilation syndrome in children is adenoid hypertrophy (which can be accompanied by enlarged tonsils). Adenoids are lymphatic tissue masses at the top of the nasopharynx that, like the tonsils, are responsible for the body’s immune function. The prevalence of hypertrophy is very high in children between the ages of 3 and 8 years, and slowly shrinks after puberty. When the temperature changes, resistance decreases, or when you have a cold, tonsillitis, rhinitis, or sinusitis, it can lead to adenoid hypertrophy, blocking the posterior nostril and causing snoring, breath-holding, and open-mouth breathing during sleep. In the long term, it can affect the development of body and brain, resulting in decreased intelligence, slow reaction, dull expression, and the disappearance of nasolabial folds, thickening of the upper lip, and protruding upper incisors, forming a special “adenoid face”. It also hinders the movement of the cartilage of the eustachian tube and makes it easy for middle ear fluid to accumulate, causing otitis media and conductive deafness. The increased resistance of the airway during sleep increases the negative pressure in the chest, which over time leads to cocksucking, and in severe cases, pulmonary heart disease may occur due to long-term hypoventilation.  Therefore, children with this syndrome should be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible to avoid irreversible effects on their growth and development. Most scholars believe that children with significant hypoventilation during sleep should be treated aggressively. The most effective treatment is surgical removal of the adenoids (or, depending on the condition, the tonsils). This type of surgery is a routine procedure in otolaryngology. In recent years, with the gradual maturity of endoscopic technology, some large hospitals have carried out nasal endoscopic adenoidectomy, which can achieve complete removal while protecting the normal structure, with a very low recurrence rate, and the age of surgery is not too restricted (over three years old can be operated), and various symptoms such as sleep snoring and open-mouth breathing disappear after surgery, with good postoperative results.