Home Respiratory Polygraphy-An Alternative for the Diagnosis of Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is one of the most common types of sleep-disordered breathing in children and is characterized by partial or complete obstruction of the upper airways during sleep with repeated episodes of airflow cessation, reduction in blood oxygen saturation and sleep disruption to restore patency of the upper airways. Because polysomnography, the gold-standard test for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, is a costly procedure with technical difficulties, home respiratory polygraphy is used as an alternative diagnostic method. This review seeks to summarize the utility of home respiratory polygraphy in detecting obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and to show if it can be used as a substitute for polysomnography in children.