Characterizing Decisional Conflict for Caregivers of Children With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Without Tonsillar Hypertrophy.

Study Objectives: The goals of this study were to (1) evaluate the degree of decisional conflict (DC) experienced by caregivers of children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) without tonsillar hypertrophy; and (2) describe the association between DC, quality of life (QOL), and OSA severity.

Methods: This study comprised children evaluated in the multidisciplinary upper airway center at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center from December 2014 to May 2016. Caregivers were asked to complete surveys (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 [PedsQL], OSA-18, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Family Impact Questionnaire, Decisional Conflict Scale, CollaboRATE scale, and SURE questionnaire) during a clinic visit. Polysomnography data were collected. Analysis included Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and regression testing.

Results: Caregivers of 76 children participated; 16 (21.1%) had high DC. There were no significant differences in demographics between those with low and high DC; the low DC group had a higher obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (13.2 versus 12.3 events/h; = .013). Overall and disease-specific QOL, sleepiness, family impact scores, and DC did not differ by OSA severity except for the PedsQL physical subcategory ( = .02). DC was associated with the total PedsQL ( = .043) on univariate regression; however, this did not persist ( = .61) after controlling for demographic variables. DC scores correlated well with CollaboRATE and SURE throughout the analysis ( < .001).

Conclusions: The proportion of caregivers of children with OSA without tonsillar hypertrophy who experienced a high level of DC regarding their child's treatment was 21.1%. Neither DC nor OSA severity was related to QOL in children with OSA. The briefer SURE or CollaboRATE scales were adequate tools to measure DC in these children.