By Joyce Heid Look, and Listen, for Signs of Sleep Apnea J · 2014. 10. 21. · what sleep apnea...
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22 www.BaltimoresChild.com JANUARY 2013 BALTIMORE’S CHILD | J aden Bryant is a bubbly, happy 9-year-old who lives with her family in the Howard County town of West Friendship and hopes to be an astronaut one day. Looking at her, you would never guess that several years ago she was diagnosed with a disorder more commonly associated with adults: obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, more commonly known as sleep apnea. Sleep apnea causes pauses in breathing, or shallow breaths, while a person is asleep. These aberrations can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes and can occur many times an hour, often preventing the person from entering a deep sleep and getting proper rest. In children, sleep apnea can also lead to growth delays, behavioral problems, developmental delays, and, in severe cases, chronic fatigue and cardiac complications. B'more Healthy By Joyce Heid Look, and Listen, for Signs of Sleep Apnea Looking back, says Jaden’s mother, Nneka Bryant, her daughter’s sleep apnea started when she was just a year and a half old. As a result, by the time she was 3, Jaden was having chronic ear infections and febrile seizures. A pediatric ENT tried to alleviate her ear infections by placing tubes in her ears, but they kept falling out, and her infections and seizures continued. At the time, says Bryant, she knew what sleep apnea was but did not know the symptoms, and so did not recognize them in her daughter, who would sleep with her mouth open, snoring loudly and sweating, and consistently had dark circles under her eyes. The doctor put Jaden on antibiotics for her ear infections, but when six months had passed with no change, Bryant sought counsel from her sister, Dr. Kala Davis-McDonald, who was completing a fellowship related to sleep disorders at Stanford University School of Medicine. At her sister’s encouragement, Bryant flew out to California with Jaden to have her undergo a sleep study at Stanford Hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with sleep apnea. A sleep study is an overnight diagnostic study that evaluates several factors in a patient, including blood oxygen levels, brain waves while asleep and awake, electrical activity of muscles, eye movement, heart and breathing rates, and body position. Pediatric patients who submit to a sleep study are allowed to have a parent stay with them for its duration. For children diagnosed with sleep apnea, says Davis-McDonald, now the chief of pulmonary medicine and director of the Sleep Center at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore,“the key treatment is surgery. Patients with sleep apnea have a narrow, crowded airway that gets blocked when they fall into a deep sleep. The patient struggles throughout the night to get in enough air, making snoring and gasping sounds. This happens repetitively throughout the night. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy enlarges the airways in most children, thus treating their sleep apnea.” The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends these surgeries as the first line of treatment for sleep apnea. After their evaluation of her and diagnosis, doctors at Stanford Hospital removed Jaden’s adenoids and tonsils. Immediately after the surgery, her snoring and seizures stopped. Within a few months, she experienced a growth spurt, and her ear infections disappeared. Davis-McDonald says her niece’s situation is far from unique, as sleep apnea is the most commonly diagnosed sleep disorder in both adults and children. In fact, she notes, the problem has become so prevalent, Saint Agnes recently renovated and expanded its sleep DANKNER • FIERGANG EYE ASSOCIATES PEDIATRIC & ADOLESCENT OPHTHALMOLOGY & ADULT STRABISMUS Providing high quality medical and surgical eye care in a warm and child-friendly environment. Also offering a full range of vision services including glasses & contact lenses EVENING, SATURDAY, AND SUNDAY APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE Stuart R Dankner, MD, FACS, FAAP Dean L Fiergang, MD, FACS, FAAP Samuel P. Andorsky, MD Board Certified Ophthalmologists Fellowship-trained in Pediatric Ophthalmology & Adult Strabismus Particpating in Blue Cross/Blue Shield & most HMO/PPO plans www.dfeyes.com BALTIMORE 2 Hamill Rd, Suite 345 (410) 433-8488 CLARKSVILLE 6100 Day Long Lane, Suite 207 (443) 535-8755 WESTMINSTER 826 Washington Rd, Suite 200 (410) 876-9030 ELDERSBURG 1380 Progress Way, Suite 108 (410) 795-9590
Transcript of By Joyce Heid Look, and Listen, for Signs of Sleep Apnea J · 2014. 10. 21. · what sleep apnea...
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ww
w.Baltim
oresChild.com JANUARY 2013 B
ALTIMORE’S CH
ILD |
Jaden Bryant is a bubbly, happy 9-year-old who lives with her family in the Howard County town of West Friendship and hopes to be an astronaut one day. Looking at her, you would never guess that
several years ago she was diagnosed with a disorder more commonly associated with adults: obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, more commonly known as sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea causes pauses in breathing, or shallow breaths, while a person is asleep. These aberrations can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes and can occur many times an hour, often preventing the person from entering a deep sleep and getting proper rest.
In children, sleep apnea can also lead to growth delays, behavioral problems, developmental delays, and, in severe cases, chronic fatigue and cardiac complications.
B'more HealthyBy Joyce Heid
Look, and Listen, for Signs of Sleep ApneaLooking back, says Jaden’s mother,
Nneka Bryant, her daughter’s sleep apnea started when she was just a year and a half old. As a result, by the time she was 3, Jaden was having chronic ear infections and febrile seizures. A pediatric ENT tried to alleviate her ear infections by placing tubes in her ears, but they kept falling out, and her infections and seizures continued.
At the time, says Bryant, she knew what sleep apnea was but did not know the symptoms, and so did not recognize them in her daughter, who would sleep with her mouth open, snoring loudly and sweating, and consistently had dark circles under her eyes.
The doctor put Jaden on antibiotics for her ear infections, but when six months had passed with no change, Bryant sought counsel from her sister, Dr. Kala Davis-McDonald, who was completing a fellowship related to sleep disorders at Stanford University School of Medicine.
At her sister’s encouragement, Bryant flew out to California with Jaden to have her undergo a sleep study at Stanford Hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with sleep apnea.
A sleep study is an overnight diagnostic study that evaluates several factors in a patient, including blood oxygen levels, brain waves while asleep and awake, electrical activity of muscles, eye movement, heart and breathing rates, and body position. Pediatric patients who submit to a sleep study are allowed to have a parent stay with them for its duration.
For children diagnosed with sleep apnea, says Davis-McDonald, now the chief of pulmonary medicine and director of the Sleep Center at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore,“the key treatment is surgery. Patients with sleep apnea have a narrow, crowded airway that gets blocked when they fall
into a deep sleep. The patient struggles throughout the night to get in enough air, making snoring and gasping sounds. This happens repetitively throughout the night. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy enlarges the airways in most children, thus treating their sleep apnea.” The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends these surgeries as the first line of treatment for sleep apnea.
After their evaluation of her and diagnosis, doctors at Stanford Hospital removed Jaden’s adenoids and tonsils. Immediately after the surgery, her snoring and seizures stopped. Within a few months, she experienced a growth spurt, and her ear infections disappeared.
Davis-McDonald says her niece’s situation is far from unique, as sleep apnea is the most commonly diagnosed sleep disorder in both adults and children. In fact, she notes, the problem has become so prevalent, Saint Agnes recently renovated and expanded its sleep
DANKNER • FIERGANGEYE ASSOCIATES
PEDIATRIC & ADOLESCENT OPHTHALMOLOGY & ADULT STRABISMUS
Providing high quality medical and surgical eye care in a warm and child-friendly environment.Also offering a full range of vision services including glasses & contact lenses
EVENING, SATURDAY, AND SUNDAY APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE
Stuart R Dankner, MD, FACS, FAAP Dean L Fiergang, MD, FACS, FAAP Samuel P. Andorsky, MD
Board Certified OphthalmologistsFellowship-trained in Pediatric Ophthalmology & Adult Strabismus
Particpating in Blue Cross/Blue Shield & most HMO/PPO plans
www.dfeyes.com
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WESTMINSTER826 Washington Rd, Suite 200
(410) 876-9030
ELDERSBURG1380 Progress Way, Suite 108
(410) 795-9590
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center in response to the growing need for services for patients of all ages.
Though the condition is more common in children who are obese, any child can develop the problem. New AAP guidelines released last year recommend all children and adolescents be screened for snoring. Those who snore and show signs of sleep apnea should submit to a sleep study, and, if diagnosed with the condition, proceed with the recommended treatment.
Fortunately, the happy ending to Jaden’s story added another chapter last year when, after the reopening of the expanded Sleep Center at Saint Agnes, she participated in another sleep study, which concluded her sleep apnea had not returned. BC
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