Dr. Ameen, ENT Specialist in Kuala Lumpur

This year, Malaysian Health Ministry produce a CPG for obstructive sleep apnea management for adults and children. I want to share the algorithm for management of paediatric OSA below:

Anyone of your child with snoring, kindly make your way and bring him/her to nearest ENT doctor/paediatrician for assessment. Consequences of untreated obstructive sleep apnea include failure to thrive, enuresis, attention-deficit disorder, behavior problems, poor academic performance, and cardiopulmonary disease.

One of the most common cause of snoring in children is enlargement of tonsils and adenoid.

Adenotonsillectomy is indicated for this, and the procedure wont take long, around half to one hour. The recovery period usually takes 1 week.

Prior to surgery, they have to undergo assessment i.e. sleep study/overnight pulse oximetry.

Another method to tackle OSA is placement of mandibular oral appliance for advancement, hence opening up the airway.

I will write more about this later :). You can watch the video below for more informations on snoring in children and its effect.