Pediatric polysomnography: the patient and family perspective

Abstract

Study objectives: The gold-standard test used to diagnose childhood obstructive sleep apnea is polysomnography. However, this test requires an overnight stay at a sleep laboratory and the attachment of multiple sensors to the patient. The long-term impact of this testing on the child and family are not known. We hypothesized that polysomnography does not precipitate acute or chronic psychological effects in children.

Methods: A consecutive cohort of children who had undergone sleep studies 2 to 4 months prior to the interview were administered a standardized questionnaire via telephone.

Results: Of the 118 families that were eligible to participate, 67% could be contacted and agreed to participate; 87% of respondents reported the experience to have been satisfactory (mean Likert score of 8.6 ± 2.0 [SD] on a scale of 1-10). Similar levels of satisfaction were reported by parents of children with developmental delay or those who were younger than 3 years. The night's sleep was considered typical in 68% of cases. Sleep was less likely to be typical in children younger than 3 years (47%, p = 0.043). Eight percent of children experienced pain during the study. By caregiver report, of those children who remembered the sleep study, memories were positive in 84%. No child had evidence of serious long-term psychological issues.

Conclusions: The vast majority of children and families found the polysomnography experience to be satisfactory, with no psychological sequelae. However, many children, especially those younger than 3 years, demonstrated sleep patterns different from their usual sleep. The clinical relevance of this finding merits further study. Further research evaluating the generalizability of this study is also needed.

Keywords: Sleep study; posttraumatic stress disorder.

Figures

Figure 1

Patient enrollment Flow diagram of patient enrollment.

Figure 2

Satisfaction with polysomnography The percentage of patients endorsing each level of the Likert scale for patient satisfaction is shown for the total group, patients with developmental delay and patients younger than 3 years of age.

Figure 3

Typical night The percentage of patients endorsing each level of the Likert scale for reproducibility of the night is shown for the total group, patients with developmental delay and patients younger than 3 years of age.