Oximetry in Children for Sleep Apnea Diagnosis

Video-polygraphy or video-polysomnography (vP(S)G) is the reference exam for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children as it allows the detection of the respiratory events presented by the child during sleep. This exam requires a one-night hospitalization and several sensors installed on the child's body, sometimes not well-accepted in children. Portable oximetry is an easier test to perform, better accepted by the child, and gives the desaturation index that may be used for the diagnosis of OSAS because most respiratory events are associated with desaturations. The hypothesis of this study is that the desaturation index obtained by the oximetry performed at the same time with the v(P(S)G) can identify a moderate-severe OSAS in children.