Diagnostic Issues in Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Diagnostic Issues in Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea
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Diagnostic Issues in Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea
The author of the article talks about sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Firstly, the author brings out the characteristics of OSAS which include limited airflow during sleep and disruption of sleeping patterns. For example, the child can experience obstruction of air when they are asleep, and they will tend to wake up hence interrupting their sleeping patterns. Additionally, the author also documents the prevalent population who are children between two to eight years; the condition is also known as primary snoring (Hiren & Arens, 2008). In this instance, one can also identify the other symptom of OSAS among children which is snoring while they are asleep. However, when a child snores, this does not necessarily mean that they have OSAS, as they may be having a cough which is curable.
At the same time, the author also brings out the methods that are used to do diagnosis among children. In this case, the doctor is required to perform a physical examination of the child so as to achieve an enhanced outcome. It is of merit to note that the enhanced outcomes can only be achieved when the examination are done during the day and at night. Further, the author also outlines the various methods that are used by doctors during diagnosis. These methods include questionnaires, audios, video, and continued pulse oximetry recoding (Hiren & Arens, 2008).

Nevertheless, I believe that some of the tools such as questionnaires are unreliable because it may be tough for the children to tell how they feel during their sleep. In general, I believe that there is need to develop advanced technological tools that can give doctors a more reliable view on OSAS among children.

References
Muzumdar, H., & Arens, R. (2008). Diagnostic issues in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea. Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society, 5(2), 263-273.