[Surgical treatment of adenotonsillar hypertrophy in children with sleep respiratory disorders: changes in polysomnographic patterns].

Adenotonsillar enlargement (ATE) can cause respiratory disorders during sleep in children. The treatment of choice for ATE is adenotonsillectomy and its efficacy must be assessed based on improvement in symptoms and polysomnographic patterns. We studied 11 children (7 boys and 4 girls, age 5.5 years) whose ATE symptoms were corrected by adenotonsillectomy. Two nighttime polysomnograms (SleepLab) were recorded, one at baseline and one 6 months after adenotonsillectomy. Polysomnographic recordings were analyzed by quantifying 1) only apneic or hypopneic events lasting > or = 10 sec and 2) all respiratory events > or = 5 sec. The most common symptoms were snoring, nocturnal dyspnea and sleep apnea. Symptoms resolved after adenotonsillectomy for most patients. Obstructive events, in particular shorter apneic events (> or = 5 sec) and instances of hypopnea, decreased after surgery. We found no changes in baseline SaO2, although the minimum SaO2 improved and the number of desaturations decreased, above all those stemming from respiratory events.