Non-invasive measurements of carboxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin in children with sickle cell disease.

Assessment of oxyhemoglobin saturation in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) is vital for prompt recognition of hypoxemia. The accuracy of pulse oximeter measurements of blood oxygenation in SCD patients is variable, partially due to carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and methemoglobin (MetHb), which decrease the oxygen content of blood. This study evaluated the accuracy and reliability of a non-invasive pulse co-oximeter in measuring COHb and MetHb percentages (SpCO and SpMet) in children with SCD. We hypothesized that measurements of COHb and MetHb by non-invasive pulse co-oximetry agree within acceptable clinical accuracy with those made by invasive whole blood co-oximetry. Fifty children with SCD-SS underwent pulse co-oximetry and blood co-oximetry while breathing room air. Non-invasive COHb and MetHb readings were compared to the corresponding blood measurements. The pulse co-oximeter bias was 0.1% for COHb and -0.22% for MetHb. The precision of the measured SpCO was ± 2.1% within a COHb range of 0.4-6.1%, and the precision of the measured SpMet was ± 0.33% within a MetHb range of 0.1-1.1%. Non-invasive pulse co-oximetry was useful in measuring COHb and MetHb levels in children with SCD. Although the non-invasive technique slightly overestimated the invasive COHb measurements and slightly underestimated the invasive MetHb measurements, there was close agreement between the two methods.

Upper airway lymphoid tissue size in children with sickle cell disease.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is higher in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) as compared with the general pediatric population. It has been speculated that overgrowth of the adenoid and tonsils is an important contributor. METHODS: The current study used MRI to evaluate such an association. We studied 36 subjects with SCD (aged 6.9 ± 4.3 years) and 36 control subjects (aged 6.6 ± 3.4 years). RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, children with SCD had a significantly smaller upper airway (2.8 ± 1.2 cm(3) vs 3.7 ± 1.6 cm(3), P < .01), and significantly larger adenoid (8.4 ± 4.1 cm(3) vs 6.0 ± 2.2 cm(3), P < .01), tonsils (7.0 ± 4.3 cm(3) vs 5.1 ± 1.9 cm(3), P < .01), retropharyngeal nodes (3.0 ± 1.9 cm(3) vs 2.2 ± 0.9 cm(3), P < .05), and deep cervical nodes (15.7 ± 5.7 cm(3) vs 12.7 ± 4.0 cm(3), P < .05). Polysomnography showed that 19.4% (seven of 36) of children with SCD had OSAS compared with 0% (zero of 20) of control subjects (P < .05) and that in children with SCD the apnea-hypopnea index correlated positively with upper airway lymphoid tissues size (r = 0.57, P < 001). In addition, children with SCD had lower arterial oxygen saturation nadir (84.3% ± 12.3% vs 91.2% ± 4.2%, P < .05), increased peak end-tidal CO(2) (53.4 ± 8.5 mm Hg vs 42.3 ± 5.3 mm Hg, P < .001), and increased arousals (13.7 ± 4.7 events/h vs 10.8 ± 3.8 events/h, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Children with SCD have reduced upper airway size due to overgrowth of the surrounding lymphoid tissues, which may explain their predisposition to OSAS.

Upper airway genioglossal activity in children with sickle cell disease.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in sickle cell disease (SCD) has been reported to be higher than that in the general pediatric population. However, not all subjects with SCD develop OSAS. We hypothesized that SCD patients with OSAS have a blunted neuromuscular response to subatmospheric pressure loads during sleep, making them more likely to develop upper airway collapse. DESIGN: Subjects with SCD with and without OSAS underwent pressure-flow measurements during sleep using intraoral surface electrodes to measure genioglossal EMG (EMGgg). Two techniques were applied to decrease the nasal pressure (P(N)) to subatmospheric levels, resulting in an activated and relatively hypotonic upper airway. The area under the curve of the inspiratory EMGgg moving time average was analyzed. EMGgg activity was expressed as a percentage of baseline. Changes in EMGgg in response to decrements in nasal pressure were expressed as the slope of the EMGgg vs. nasal pressure (slope of EMGgg-P(N)). SETTING: Sleep laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: 4 children with SCD and OSAS and 18 children with SCD but without OSAS. RESULTS: THE MAJOR FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY WERE: (1) using the activated but not the hypotonic technique, the slope of EMGgg-P(N) was more negative in SCD controls than SCD OSAS; (2) the slope of EMGgg-P(N) was significantly lower using the activated technique compared to the hypotonic technique in SCD controls only; (3) similarly, the critical closing pressure, Pcrit, was more negative using the activated technique than the hypotonic technique in SCD controls but not in SCD OSAS. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study has shown that children with SCD but without OSAS have more prominent upper airway reflexes than children with SCD and OSAS.