Tongue Muscular Assessment in Children With Sleep Disordered Breathing

Tongue Muscular Assessment in Children Referred for Polysomnography in a Context of Suspected Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is part of the sleep-disordered breathing spectrum. Its prevalence in children is 1-5%, and it can have negative consequences at the cardiovascular, cognitive as well as behavioral levels. In children, the first-line treatment is adenotonsillectomy. However, residual obstructive events can persist as the success rate of surgery reaches only 49% in non-obese children. Residual OSA may be explained by multiple sites of obstruction, found in 20-85% children concerned by persistent OSA. Indeed, the tongue appears among one possible primary sites of obstruction. Given the tongue's crucial role in upper-airway patency during sleep, its assessment can inform us about the myofunctional deficits involved in sleep-disordered breathing.

The primary objective of the present study is to assess tongue motor functions in children with sleep-disordered breathing and to compare them to those of healthy children (data collected in a current study (TMAC) conducted at UCLouvain, Belgium; NCT06166680), in order to document possible myofunctional deficits in children with OSA. The hypothesis is that tongue motor functions will be lower in children with sleep-disordered breathing.

Inclusion Criteria:

• With suspected sleep-disordered breathing
• Referred for polysomnography
• Affiliated to a social security scheme
• With informed consent from both legal representatives

Exclusion Criteria:

• Insufficient comprehension of French language

• Regarding patients with suspected OSA type I or II:

  • Neurological, cardiac, or unstable respiratory conditions other than sleep disorders and their repercussions
  • Any deficit possibly impacting measurements according to the investigator (e.g., psychiatric condition)
  • Malformation of the skull, the upper airway or the oral cavity

• Regarding patients with suspected OSA type III:

  • Any deficit possibly impacting measurements according to the investigator (e.g., psychiatric condition)
  • Intellectual deficit impeding the understanding of instructions