Aim: International guidelines recommend that children who are managed at home with mechanical respiratory support (RS) should have sleep studies performed every 6-12 months. This recommendation is based on expert opinion, with little evidence to support it. No studies have been undertaken to examine the utility of sleep studies in children on RS.
Methods: A retrospective review of sleep studies performed over a 12-month period was undertaken at a New Zealand paediatric sleep medicine referral centre, to determine changes made to RS following sleep studies.
Results: Sixty-one sleep studies were performed for assessment of RS in 45 children (27 boys; median age 8.3 years; range 0.4-18.6 years). Twenty-nine (64%) children were on continuous positive airway pressure, 14 (31%) on bi-level non-invasive ventilation, and two (4%) on tracheostomy ventilation. A change was made to RS settings after 66% of studies. No clinical parameters predicted which children would require a change in settings.
Conclusions: Although sleep studies are expensive and time-consuming, follow-up studies of children on RS provide important information for optimising management into the long term.