Alternatives to surgery in children with mild OSA

David Gozal; Mahmoud Ismail; Pablo E Brockmann

doi:10.1016/j.wjorl.2021.03.005

Alternatives to surgery in children with mild OSA

World J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021 May 29;7(3):228-235. doi: 10.1016/j.wjorl.2021.03.005. eCollection 2021 Jul.

Authors

David Gozal¹, Mahmoud Ismail², Pablo E Brockmann^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child Health and Child Health Research Institute, and MU Women and Children's Hospital, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA.
² Department of Neurology and Sleep Medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA.
³ Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Pulmonology, Division of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
⁴ Pediatric Sleep Center, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Abstract

Precision medicine requires coordinated and integrated evidence-based combinatorial approaches so that diagnosis and treatment can be tailored to the individual patient. In this context, the treatment approach to mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is fraught with substantial debate as to what is mild OSA, and as to what constitutes appropriate treatment. As such, it is necessary to first establish a proposed consensus of what criteria need to be employed to reach the diagnosis of mild OSA, and then examine the circumstances under which treatment is indicated, and if so, whether and when anti-inflammatory therapy (AIT), rapid maxillary expansion (RME), and/or myofunctional therapy (MFT) may be indicated.

Keywords: Adenotonsillectomy; Antiinflammatory; Children; Myofunctional therapy; Obstructive sleep apnea; Rapid maxillary expansion.

Publication types

Review