This document summarises the conclusions of a European Respiratory Society Task Force on the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in childhood and refers to children aged 2–18 years. Prospective cohort studies describing the natural history of SDB or randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials regarding its management are scarce. Selected evidence (362 articles) can be consolidated into seven management steps. SDB is suspected when symptoms or abnormalities related to upper airway obstruction are present (step 1). Central nervous or cardiovascular system morbidity, growth failure or enuresis and predictors of SDB persistence in the long-term are recognised (steps 2 and 3), and SDB severity is determined objectively preferably using polysomnography (step 4). Children with an apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI) >5 episodes·h⁻¹, those with an AHI of 1–5 episodes·h⁻¹and the presence of morbidity or factors predicting SDB persistence, and children with complex conditions (e.g.Down syndrome and Prader–Willi syndrome) all appear to benefit from treatment (step 5). Treatment interventions are usually implemented in a stepwise fashion addressing all abnormalities that predispose to SDB (step 6) with re-evaluation after each intervention to detect residual disease and to determine the need for additional treatment (step 7).

The present statement was produced by a European Respiratory Society Task Force to summarise the evidence and current practice on the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children aged 1–23 months. A systematic literature search was completed and 159 articles were summarised to answer clinically relevant questions. SDB is suspected when symptoms or abnormalities related to upper airway obstruction are identified. Morbidity (pulmonary hypertension, growth delay, behavioural problems) and coexisting conditions (feeding difficulties, recurrent otitis media) may be present. SDB severity is measured objectively, preferably by polysomnography, or alternatively polygraphy or nocturnal oximetry. Children with apparent upper airway obstruction during wakefulness, those with abnormal sleep study in combination with SDB symptoms (e.g.snoring) and/or conditions predisposing to SDB (e.g.mandibular hypoplasia) as well as children with SDB and complex conditions (e.g.Down syndrome, Prader–Willi syndrome) will benefit from treatment. Adenotonsillectomy and continuous positive airway pressure are the most frequently used treatment measures along with interventions targeting specific conditions (e.g.supraglottoplasty for laryngomalacia or nasopharyngeal airway for mandibular hypoplasia). Hence, obstructive SDB in children aged 1–23 months is a multifactorial disorder that requires objective assessment and treatment of all underlying abnormalities that contribute to upper airway obstruction during sleep.

Obstructive sleep-disordered breathing is associated with cardiovascular disease in adults, and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) has been proposed as a link between the two disorders. We hypothesized that children with sleep-disordered breathing have higher CRP values than do control subjects. CRP was measured in 39 children (mean age ± SD: 6.9 ± 3.2 years) without snoring (controls) and in 102 children (6.2 ± 2.2 years) with habitual snoring who underwent polysomnography. No significant differences were found in mean CRP values between control subjects (0.12 ± 0.16 mg/dl; n = 39) and snorers with an apnea-hypopnea index of less than 1 episode/hour (0.15 ± 0.26; n = 18), snorers with an index of 1 or more and less than 5 (0.15 ± 0.26; n = 54), and snorers with an index of 5 or more (0.22 ± 0.43; n = 30; p > 0.05). There was no correlation between CRP or log-transformed CRP values and apnea–hypopnea index, respiratory movement/arousal index, SaO2 nadir, oxygen desaturation (⩾ 4%) of hemoglobin index, or percentage of sleep time with saturation less than 95% (p > 0.05). Thus, findings of higher CRP values in adults with sleep-disordered breathing and correlations of these values with polysomnography indices were not confirmed in children.