Impact of adenotonsillectomy in children with severe obstructive sleep apnea: A systematic review

Objectives: To determine the impact of adenotonsillectomy for treatment of severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children without comorbidities. Methods: A systematic review was performed to identify studies regarding adenotonsillectomy for treatment of children with severe sleep apnea. Polysomnographic parameters were considered as metric of cure and the number of patients of persistent apnea was calculated. Quality of evidence was graded using OCEBM (Oxford Center for Evidence Based Medicine) and MINORS (Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies) scores. Results: The systematic review included nine studies. Five studies were prospective and four retrospectives. No one was controlled. The number of subjects with severe OSA included was 499 with a prevalence of male. The mean age varied from 4.3 to 8.2. The follow-up period ranges from 1 to 23 months. The criteria for considering severe OSA ranges from AHI or RDI ≥10 to ≥30. All the trials have found a statistically significant reduction of postoperative AHI or RDI values in patients who had undergone adenotonsillectomy for severe OSA. The AHI and RDI improving varied from 57.7% to 93.3%. All the studies documented persistent OSA after adenotonsillectomy. The number of residual OSA considering AHI≥5 varied from 30 to 55.5%, in case of AHI ≥1 from 60 to 90.6%. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review regarding the effectiveness of adenotonsillectomy for severe OSA in otherwise healthy children. Adenotonsillectomy is partially effective in the treatment of severe OSA in children without comorbidities. However, it reduces the severity of OSA determining a significant reduction of polysomnographic parameters. These results suggest a clinical and polysomnographic follow-up after surgery in order to manage the residual mild and moderate OSA.