The pediatric use of bilevel positive airway pressure therapy for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a retrospective review with analysis of respiratory parameters.

The purpose of this study was objective documentation of clinical benefits of bilevel positive airway pressure in pediatric patients with obstructive sleep apnea. We performed a retrospective chart review and data collection/analysis in a suburban tertiary care children's hospital. The study consisted of 10 pediatric patients (age range: 3 to 18 years); 3 patients had craniofacial abnormalities, 1 patient had neuromuscular disease, and 6 patients were obese. Eleven-channel polysomnography and support with bilevel positive airway pressure were used. We measured obstructive sleep apnea indices, lowest oxygen saturation rate, and average breath lengths before and after bilevel positive airway pressure use. We found that the apnea index decreased from 19.7 +/- 26.46 to 0.82 +/- 1.01, the lowest oxygen saturation increased from 75.60% +/- 14.93% to 89.50% +/- 5.50%, and breath length increased from 3.22 +/- 0.95 to 3.68 +/- 0.82. Bilevel positive airway pressure may be considered as a treatment modality for pediatric patients with obstructive sleep apnea.