PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Jole Rabasco AU - Ottavio Vitelli AU - Nicoletta Pietropaoli AU - Alessandra Rizzoli AU - Rosa Castaldo AU - Mariachiara Paolino AU - Martina Forlani AU - Maria Pia Villa TI - The duration of obstructive sleep apnea disease is predictive of efficacy or othodontic therapy in children DP - 2014 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - P1143 VI - 44 IP - Suppl 58 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P1143.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P1143.full SO - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44 AB - IntroductionOSAS is a multifactorial disease with a coexistence of different risk factors. Despite primary treatment in children is adenotonsillectomy (AT), there is evidence suggesting that rapid maxillary expansion (RME) is a potential additional treatment in children presenting OSA. The aim of this study is to confirm, with a larger sample, our previous findings in order to underline the efficacy of RME in children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) who did not undergo AT .Methods Children between 4 and 8 years old who referred to our Pediatric Sleep Centre because of SDB, were enrolled. After the orthodontic evaluation all children presented with a high, narrow palate, that in some patients was associated with signs of malocclusion underwentan endo-oral RME treatment for 12 months. Standard overnight polisomnography recordings were obtained before starting orthodontic treatment (T0) and after 12 months of treatment (T1).Results 40 patients were eligible for recruitment .The AHI decreased significantly from T0 ( 4,7 ± 4.4 ev/h) to T1 (1.6 ± 1.4 ev/h)(p= 0,000) as well as the arousal Index, whereas total sleep time and mean overnight oxygen saturation increased significantly. We obtained resolution of the disease (AHI < 1 ev/h) in 47.5 % of patients and an efficacy of treatment was achieved in 85 % of childrenThe analysis of different influencing predictive factors on treatment efficacy revealed a significant influence of the disease duration (p 0.03 ).ConclusionsOur data confirm the usefulness and efficacy of early orthodontic treatment in children with mild and moderate OSA and stressed the importance of an early treatment in order to achieve a best outcome.