Compared to full term , premature infants exhibit significant differences in sleep structure , which mainly include differences in electroencephalographic spectral values , in total sleep time and in arousal threshold .
Furthermore , prematurity seems to be a risk factor of sleep breathing disorders in childhood and adolescence .
Conclusions The alterations in sleep patterns are an outcome of prematurity ( immaturity of nervous system ) as well as of postnatal factors and comorbidities .
Sleep problems in this population of infants seems to be a missing piece of the puzzle of impaired neurodevelopment .
Background Sleep undergoes changes from birth to adulthood , while sleep disorders are associated with various cognitive deficiencies in childhood .
In parallel , prematurity is known to predispose to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes .
Our aim is to provide literature data about factors influencing sleep in the premature infants and sleep outcomes in this population .
Children with a history of prematurity presenting with snoring and sleep-disordered breathing: a cross-sectional study.
OBJECTIVES /HYPOTHESIS To report on the prevalence of premature ( PM ) birth in a consecutive series of children treated for snoring and sleep-disordered breathing ( S/SDB ) , the parameters specific to their management and variables predictive of disease severity . STUDY DESIGN A retrospective study was undertaken at a tertiary pediatric hospital . METHODS Children with history of PM and presenting with S/SDB were identified from a prospect ively kept surgical data base . We set out to determine the prevalence of PM among the patients presenting with S/SDB who required airway evaluations and surgery .  Pulse oximetry is overnight recordable oxygen saturation and heart rate tracing that provides information about hypoxemia during sleep . This was performed on all children preoperatively . The pulse oximetry findings were used to plan for perioperative monitoring and care . A multivariable analysis was used to identify factors predictive of abnormal pulse oximetry studies . We evaluated the associated diagnoses , surgical procedures required , and response to treatment in these selected children . RESULTS Fifty-seven out of 1,038 patients were PM ( 33 males ; mean age , 62.09 ± 34.91 months ; range , 4 - 190 months ) . The mean gestational age was 30.3 ± 4.0 weeks . The prevalence rate of PM among patients treated surgically for SDB is 5.5 % ( 95 % CI 5.2 - 5.8 ) at our center . Comorbid pulmonary and gastrointestinal disorders were encountered on 23 ( 40 % ) and 17 ( 29.8 % ) occasions , respectively , and were the most commonly encountered comorbid diagnostic categories . Large airway abnormalities were encountered in 11 ( 19.3 % ) children , and the most common were subglottic stenosis ( four ) and laryngeal paralysis ( four ) . Comorbid respiratory disease was negatively predictive of abnormal pulse oximetry ( coefficient -0.35 , P<.05 ) . Postoperative respiratory outcomes correlated with abnormal pulse oximetry ( coefficient 0.3 ; P<.05 ) . CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest children with PM presenting to pediatric otolaryngology require a comprehensive evaluation for S/SDB . A significant proportion of children with S/SDB and a history of PM frequently had pulmonary and gastrointestinal comorbidities in our cohort . One-half required admission postoperatively , and these were predictable based on preoperative pulse oximetry . Respiratory comorbidity was negatively predictive of severity of SDB . Inversely , children with untreated pulmonary comorbidities are more likely to have postoperative complications
Compared to full term , premature infants exhibit significant differences in sleep structure , which mainly include differences in electroencephalographic spectral values , in total sleep time and in arousal threshold .
Furthermore , prematurity seems to be a risk factor of sleep breathing disorders in childhood and adolescence .
Conclusions The alterations in sleep patterns are an outcome of prematurity ( immaturity of nervous system ) as well as of postnatal factors and comorbidities .
Sleep problems in this population of infants seems to be a missing piece of the puzzle of impaired neurodevelopment .
Background Sleep undergoes changes from birth to adulthood , while sleep disorders are associated with various cognitive deficiencies in childhood .
In parallel , prematurity is known to predispose to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes .
Our aim is to provide literature data about factors influencing sleep in the premature infants and sleep outcomes in this population .