Factors affecting completion of sleep studies in pediatric patients with sleep-disordered breathing.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To determine demographic factors associated with failure to complete ordered polysomnograms (PSGs) in pediatric patients with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB).

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective case series.

METHODS

This study was conducted at an urban safety-net hospital and included 829 patients with SDB, ages 0 to 18 years, for whom PSGs were ordered during a 1-year time period. Factors including age, race, language, and insurance status were reported for each patient. The data were reviewed by univariate and multivariate analyses to determine factors associated with failure to complete the PSGs.

RESULTS

Of 829 patients, 200 (24%) failed to complete the PSGs. By univariate analysis, age was the only significant factor affecting completion (P < .01), with toddlers having the highest rate of completion (81%) and teenagers the lowest (68%). Primary language and insurance type were not significantly associated with completion rate. Hispanics were more likely than non-Hispanic whites to complete the PSGs (81% vs. 70%), but this did not achieve statistical significance. By multivariate analysis, the teenage group remained significantly less likely to complete sleep study than toddlers (P = .04). There was again no statistically significant difference for race by multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Among pediatric patients with SDB, age is a significant factor affecting completion of PSGs. Racial minorities and non-English-speaking patients were not less likely to complete PSGs. Other demographic factors do not appear to be associated with completion of PSGs.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 130:E258-E262, 2020.