Feasibility of conducting type III home sleep apnoea test in children.

OBJECTIVES

To test the feasibility of conducting unattended paediatric type III HSAT and to identify issues for improvements to optimize signal quality.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Parents were instructed in setting up the unattended HSAT and reported their experiences. Signal quality and causes of signal failure of recordings were assessed.

RESULTS

Forty children were included. Mean age was 5.2 years. Predefined success criteria were met in 53% of recordings. Main causes of signal failure were nasal cannula, pulse-oximetry and battery failure. Sensor fixation techniques were developed and implemented during the study and hence signal quality improved. Seventeen (94%) parents reported HSAT to be either easy or medium hard to use.Conclusions and significance: Unattended paediatric type III HSAT can be conducted at home with acceptable signal quality. Signal quality improved considerably using simple sensor fixation techniques.