Snoring in children

Snoring occurs in approximately one-third of children. About 10% of these children snore every night.

Uncomplicated snoring is at one end of the spectrum of what is termed ‘sleep-disordered breathing’ (SDB) and severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is at the other end. It is estimated that OSA affects approximately 3-5% of normal children.

A formal clinical assessment is required to determine which children with snoring potentially have OSA (which has negative consequences even in mild cases and can be present in young children as well as older children) and which children with snoring need additional management. For this reason, it is important that symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing are sought in any child with:

• snoring
• enlarged tonsils
• complaints of disturbed or unrefreshing sleep.

Learning objectives for this course:

• Know how to assess a child who has snoring.
• Understand the potential health consequences of sleep-disordered breathing.
• Know how to diagnose a child with obstructive sleep apnoea.
• Know how to manage a child who has snoring.

Acknowledgements

This course was created by Dr Karen Falloon MBChB, FRNZCGP, PhD, Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland in 2018.