Sleep disturbances in children with enlarged tonsils and adenoids

Abstract

Background: Sleep plays an essential and critical role in growth and development of children. The consequences of sleep disturbance in children include: impaired immunologic function, reduced alertness, deficits in cognition, memory and learning. Objective: This study aims to assess sleep disturbances in children with adenotonsillar enlargement. Methods: This is a preliminary report of a study on children with adenotonsillar enlargement at the Otolaryngologic clinics of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano Nigeria. Results: A total of 38 consecutive patients with adenotonsillar enlargement were studied; 20 (52.60%) were males and 18 (47.40%) were females. Their ages were between 1 and 10years; the mean age was 3.67 years. The mean duration of symptom was 1.17 years (SD = 0.84). The overall mean sleep disorder score was 1.94 ± 0.15. The mean score for males was 1.66 ± 0.21 and that for females was 2.24 ± 0.19. The mean sleep disorder score for children ≤ 5years was 1.90 0.15, while that for children ≤ 5years was 2.04 ± 0.42. The mean score for children with snoring was 3.58 ± 0.26. There was no significant correlation between the age of the patients, duration of symptoms and
the degree of snoring. Conclusions: This study found a good sleep health in children with adenotonsillar enlargement except for those children that presented with snoring as their primary complaint.