Ineffectiveness of watchful waiting on mouth breathing in children with obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effectiveness of watchful waiting on mouth breathing in children with OSA.

METHODS

Children in the Childhood Adenotonsillectomy Trial (CHAT) dataset were divided into two groups according to the treatment they received. One question in the OSA-18 Quality-of-Life Survey was chosen to evaluate the severity of mouth breathing.

RESULTS

In total, 392 children (adenotonsillectomy group, n = 197 and watchful waiting group, n = 195) were enrolled in the study. There was no significant correlation between the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) and the severity of mouth breathing, r=.09,p=.073. In watchful waiting group, there is no statistically significant difference of mouth breathing score (p = .555) between baseline and followup.

CONCLUSIONS

The watchful waiting of mouth breathing in children with less severe OSA is ineffective. More caution should be taken to choose watchful waiting for children with mild OSA but severe mouth breathing.