Although sleep apnea is a term that is more related to symptoms and syndromes in the adults, sleep apnea in children is also more common. The frequency of syndrome in the adults is comparatively higher when compared to children, and if it occurs in children at the neonate stage, it is more attributed to the hereditary rather than the other symptoms that are involved. The age group in which the syndrome occurs is diverse and ranges from the neonates to the teens. The prevalence rates are approximately 2% in children and the specific age group in which the prevalence rates are higher range between 2–8 years.
Obstructive sleep apnea in children is featured with a constant obstruction of airway that disrupts the normal ventilation and thus affects the sleep of the children. If left untreated for a long period of time, it leads to disruption in the normal sleep mode and thus ultimately, the neurobehavioral mode and leads to many other cardiovascular developments in early childhood. The best mode of recognizing Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome is by means of recognizing snoring in early childhood and thus, starting treatment at the initial stages of the syndrome itself.
Surgery is the best mode of treatment in children and prior to surgery, it is advised that the patients choose polysomnography as the mode of detecting sleep apnea and the symptoms that are involved. There are standard set of guidelines that are involved in the detection and treatment of sleep apnea when it comes to children and the neonates. It is highly essential that all children be screened for snoring irrespective of their age type and the family hereditary. Patients with an increased risk of sleep apnea should be referred to specialists and those with a prior history of cardiorespiratory failure should not be subjected to pre-diagnoses of the syndrome. Instead treatment should begin promptly and thus, it is more important to distinguish between normal snoring and sleep apnea at this stage.
When it comes to treating and identifying sleep apnea in children, it is highly recommended that patients with increased risk should be treated as in-house patients and thus should be monitored with more care. Surgery could play an important role in treating apnea permanently, but however, it should be understood that prior to surgery, it should be analyzed if other modes of treatment are also required.
