Objective: A systematic review of the evidence on the success of Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE) directed surgery in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) defined as cure rate.
Data sources: The PRISMA guidelines were followed and three databases (PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library) were searched for studies on DISE directed surgery in children.
Endpoints: Pre- and post-surgical change in polysomnography (PSG); change in surgical target; side effects.
Review methods: Study quality was assessed using the modified Delphi technique quality appraisal tool for case series. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias.
Results: A total of 1805 studies were found. The most important reasons for exclusion were as follows: none-DISE studies, reports on adults, conflation of results on syndromic and healthy patients, no relevant outcome measurements. Five studies with a total of 376 patients (range: 26-126) were included. The surgeons changed the planned strategy in 50.4 % of patients according to the DISE findings. Comparison of pre- and post-surgical sleep monitoring revealed an average decrease in apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 11.1 and a treatment success (AHI < 5) and cure (AHI < 2) of 78 % and 53 %, respectively. The quality of the included studies was moderate especially due to small populations, designs without randomization or control groups, lack of analysis of drop outs, short follow-up, and considerable level of bias.
Conclusion: DISE directed surgery has been shown to change the surgical approach when treating children with OSA. If this can be transferred into a better outcome compared to standard surgical treatment is unknown, due to the current poor level of evidence. To decide whether or not DISE should be included in the treatment of children with OSA, we suggest further data, preferably an RCT, to increase the level of evidence.
Keywords: Children; DISE; Obstructive sleep apnea.
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