RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the effect of drug induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) on intra-operative decision making during pediatric sleep surgery for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on pediatric (3-17 years) patients with moderate-to-severe OSA (7.2-71.8) who underwent drug induced sleep endoscopy at the time of initial sleep surgery. The characteristics evaluated included age, race, gender, site of obstruction, type of surgical intervention, pre- and post-operative apnea and hypopnea index. Of the 26 patients that were identified, 18 had both a pre- and post-operative polysomnograms result. RESULTS: All patients underwent DISE immediately prior to surgical treatment. The mean pre-operative AHI for the 18 patients with post-operative polysomnogram results was 21.3 (7.2-71.8). The mean post-operative AHI for the 18 patients was 7.6 (0.7-25.1). There was a significant difference between pre- and post-operative AHI (p < 0.001). Of the 26 patients, the most common area of collapse was the soft palate, occurring in 17/26 (65.4%) patients. Base of tongue involvement was found to be present in 11/26 (42.3%) patients, and the epiglottis was involved in 4/26 (15.4%). Evidence of multilevel collapse was observed in 6/26 (23.1%) patients. Patients observed to have palatal collapse underwent a pharyngoplasty (20/26; 76.9%) at the time of adenotonsillectomy. Three (11.5%) patients underwent a tongue reduction. CONCLUSION: This study provides additional evidence that DISE can affect intra-operative decision making, with the potential for improved post-operative outcomes. A randomized controlled study is needed to determine if these outcomes are better than what can be achieved without DISE.
