Understanding the aetiology of obstructive sleep apnoea in children by employing physiological endotyping methods

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a condition characterised by repetitive collapse of the upper airway during sleep and affects both adults and children. Understanding of the different aetiology of OSA makes targeted therapy with the highest chance of efficacy possible for individuals. Our world leading methods for defining this “endotype” (upper airway collapsibility, muscle compensation, loop gain/respiratory control, and arousal threshold) from routinely collected sleep study data (polysomnography or PSG) have been shown in adults to predict the efficacy of treatment interventions such as upper airway surgery and medications. We have recently shown that this method can be applied to children and now plan several studies investigating the prevalence of these endotypes in children referred for investigation of possible OSA and the change in these physiological parameters after surgical treatment.