Quality of life assessment following adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnoea in children under three years of age.

AIM: To investigate the effects of adenotonsillectomy on the quality of life of children under three years of age with obstructive sleep apnoea. To our knowledge, there have been no previously published studies on this topic.

METHOD: Thirty-nine children under three years of age and treated with adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnoea met the inclusion criteria. A quality of life questionnaire was adapted from the validated, six-item instrument developed by de Serres et al. (2000). The questionnaire assessed improvement in specific domains following adenotonsillectomy. Carers scored each domain on a point scale ranging from 'none' (0) to 'couldn't be more' (6).

RESULTS

The quality of life of all children improved after surgery. The greatest mean improvement scores were in the domains of care-giver concern, physical suffering and sleep disturbance. The modal questionnaire score was 4 and the overall mean questionnaire score was 4.2.

CONCLUSION

Adenotonsillectomy provides measurable improvements in quality of life for children under three years of age with obstructive sleep apnoea.