Population-based epidemiologic studies have uncovered the high prevalence and wide severity spectrum of undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea, and have consistently found that even mild obstructive sleep apnea is associated with significant morbidity. Evidence from methodologically strong cohort studies indicates that undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea, with or without symptoms, is independently associated with increased likelihood of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, daytime sleepiness, motor vehicle accidents, and diminished quality of life. Strategies to decrease the high prevalence and associated morbidity of obstructive sleep apnea are critically needed. The reduction or elimination of risk factors through public health initiatives with clinical support holds promise. Potentially modifiable risk factors considered in this review include overweight and obesity, alcohol, smoking, nasal congestion, and estrogen depletion in menopause. Data suggest that obstructive sleep apnea is associated with all these factors, but at present the only intervention strategy supported with adequate evidence is weight loss. A focus on weight control is especially important given the expanding epidemic of overweight and obesity in the United States. Primary care providers will be central to clinical approaches for addressing the burden and the development of cost-effective case-finding strategies and feasible treatment for mild obstructive sleep apnea warrants high priority.

Epidemiology of obstructive sleep apnea: a population health perspective.

OBJECTIVES: This revised clinical practice guideline, intended for use by primary care clinicians, provides recommendations for the diagnosis and management of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children and adolescents. This practice guideline focuses on uncomplicated childhood OSAS, that is, OSAS associated with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and/or obesity in an otherwise healthy child who is being treated in the primary care setting. METHODS: Of 3166 articles from 1999–2010, 350 provided relevant data. Most articles were level II–IV. The resulting evidence report was used to formulate recommendations. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The following recommendations are made. (1) All children/adolescents should be screened for snoring. (2) Polysomnography should be performed in children/adolescents with snoring and symptoms/signs of OSAS; if polysomnography is not available, then alternative diagnostic tests or referral to a specialist for more extensive evaluation may be considered. (3) Adenotonsillectomy is recommended as the first-line treatment of patients with adenotonsillar hypertrophy. (4) High-risk patients should be monitored as inpatients postoperatively. (5) Patients should be reevaluated postoperatively to determine whether further treatment is required. Objective testing should be performed in patients who are high risk or have persistent symptoms/signs of OSAS after therapy. (6) Continuous positive airway pressure is recommended as treatment if adenotonsillectomy is not performed or if OSAS persists postoperatively. (7) Weight loss is recommended in addition to other therapy in patients who are overweight or obese. (8) Intranasal corticosteroids are an option for children with mild OSAS in whom adenotonsillectomy is contraindicated or for mild postoperative OSAS.

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Diagnosis and Management of Childhood Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease: an American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research Professional Education Committee, Council on Clinical Cardiology, Stroke Council, and Council on Cardiovascular Nursing.

Sleep-related breathing disorders are highly prevalent in patients with established cardiovascular disease. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects an estimated 15 million adult Americans and is present in a large proportion of patients with hypertension and in those with other cardiovascular disorders, including coronary artery disease, stroke, and atrial fibrillation.1–14 In contrast, central sleep apnea (CSA) occurs mainly in patients with heart failure.15–19 The purpose of this Scientific Statement is to describe the types and prevalence of sleep apnea and its relevance to individuals who either are at risk for or already have established cardiovascular disease. Special emphasis is given to recognizing the patient with cardiovascular disease who has coexisting sleep apnea, to understanding the mechanisms by which sleep apnea may contribute to the progression of the cardiovascular condition, and to identifying strategies for treatment. This document is not intended as a systematic review but rather seeks to highlight concepts and evidence important to understanding the interactions between sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease, with particular attention to more recent advances in patient-oriented research. Implicit in this first American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Scientific Statement on Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease is the recognition that, although holding great promise, this general area is in need of a substantially expanded knowledge base. Specific questions include whether sleep apnea is important in initiating the development of cardiac and vascular disease, whether sleep apnea in patients with established cardiovascular disease accelerates disease progression, and whether treatment of sleep apnea results in clinical improvement, fewer cardiovascular events, and reduced mortality.

Experimental approaches directed at addressing these issues are limited by several considerations. First, the close association between obesity and OSA often obscures differentiation between the effects of obesity, the effects of OSA, and the effects of synergies between these conditions. Second, multiple comorbidities, …

Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease An American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research Professional Education Committee, Council on Clinical Cardiology, Stroke Council, and Council on Cardiovascular Nursing In Collaboration With the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (National Institutes of Health)

WHO Regional Office for Europe.

The Society for Fetal Urology (SFU) was founded in 1988 to study the postnatal evolution of prenatally detected anomalies of the urinary tract by following those neonates whose prenatal studies have brought them to medical attention while asymptomatic. The SFU has attempted to standardize methods of performing and grading the ultrasound and radionuclide examinations in this population. A system to grade upper tract dilatation or hydronephrosis (HN) imaged by ultrasound has been developed and is being used by SFU members in 36 institutions. The appearance of the calices, renal pelvis and renal parenchyma are key in determining the grade of HN and are illustrated in this article.

Ultrasound grading of hydronephrosis: Introduction to the system used by the society for fetal urology

Obstructive sleep apnea in infants and children.

A diagnostic approach to suspected obstructive sleep apnea in children

Twenty cases of avulsion fractures of the apophyses of the pelvis and proximal femur were reviewed. Most occurred in male adolescents engaged in active sports. Pain, often with little external evidence of trauma, was the most frequent presenting symptom. Conservative, nonsurgical treatment was successful in all the patients. The radiographic appearance of each type of apophyseal injury is demonstrated. Recognition of the initial deformity and of the patterns of repair is important to avoid unnecessary evaluation (tomography, radionuclide scans) and inappropriate therapy. While productive changes with healing are most likely to occur in the region of the ischium, any of the other sites may heal with abundant bone and may mimic neoplasm. In the proper clinical setting, bony changes at these sites should prompt the radiologist to consider a traumatic etiology.

Sandra K. Fernbach

Papers

Ultrasound grading of hydronephrosis: Introduction to the system used by the society for fetal urology

Obstructive sleep apnea in infants and children.

A diagnostic approach to suspected obstructive sleep apnea in children

Avulsion injuries of the pelvis and proximal femur

Surgery versus observation for managing obstructive grade 3 to 4 unilateral hydronephrosis: a report from the society for fetal urology