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Mouth breathing, “nasal disuse,” and pediatric sleep-disordered breathing

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Abstract

Background

Adenotonsillectomy (T&A) may not completely eliminate sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and residual SDB can result in progressive worsening of abnormal breathing during sleep. Persistence of mouth breathing post-T&As plays a role in progressive worsening through an increase of upper airway resistance during sleep with secondary impact on orofacial growth.

Methods

Retrospective study on non-overweight and non-syndromic prepubertal children with SDB treated by T&A with pre- and post-surgery clinical and polysomnographic (PSG) evaluations including systematic monitoring of mouth breathing (initial cohort). All children with mouth breathing were then referred for myofunctional treatment (MFT), with clinical follow-up 6 months later and PSG 1 year post-surgery. Only a limited subgroup followed the recommendations to undergo MFT with subsequent PSG (follow-up subgroup).

Results

Sixty-four prepubertal children meeting inclusion criteria for the initial cohort were investigated. There was significant symptomatic improvement in all children post-T&A, but 26 children had residual SDB with an AHI > 1.5 events/hour and 35 children (including the previous 26) had evidence of “mouth breathing” during sleep as defined [minimum of 44 % and a maximum of 100 % of total sleep time, mean 69 ± 11 % “mouth breather” subgroup and mean 4 ± 3.9 %, range 0 and 10.3 % “non-mouth breathers”]. Eighteen children (follow-up cohort), all in the “mouth breathing” group, were investigated at 1 year follow-up with only nine having undergone 6 months of MFT. The non- MFT subjects were significantly worse than the MFT-treated cohort. MFT led to normalization of clinical and PSG findings.

Conclusion

Assessment of mouth breathing during sleep should be systematically performed post-T&A and the persistence of mouth breathing should be treated with MFT.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Seo-Young Lee was a visiting associate professor at the Stanford University Sleep Medicine Division and was financially supported by the Kangwon National University College of Medicine during her sabbatical year. We greatly appreciated advices, comments, and corrections from Dr. Stacey Quo DDS, University of California San Francisco Dental School.

Ethical considerations

This retrospective study on data rendered anonymous was approved by the IRB.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors has conflict of interest.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Seo-Young Lee

    Present address: Kangwon National University College of Medicine, Kanwon-do, Republic of Korea

  2. Hsiao-Yean Chiu

    Present address: Graduate Institute of Nursing College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford Outpatient Medical Center, Stanford University Sleep Medicine Division, 450 Broadway Street, Pavilion B 2nd floor, MC 5730, Redwood City, CA, 94063-5730, USA

    Seo-Young Lee, Christian Guilleminault, Hsiao-Yean Chiu & Shannon S. Sullivan

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  1. Seo-Young Lee
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  2. Christian Guilleminault
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Guilleminault.

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Lee, SY., Guilleminault, C., Chiu, HY. et al. Mouth breathing, “nasal disuse,” and pediatric sleep-disordered breathing. Sleep Breath 19, 1257–1264 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-015-1154-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-015-1154-6

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