Upper airway obstruction during sleep in infants with laryngomalacia is frequently sleep-position-dependent.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Laryngomalacia is the most common congenital airway anomaly causing breathing difficulties in infants. Severe laryngomalacia is often associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods

We re-evaluated 14-year pediatric sleep center polysomnography (PSG) data in infants with fluoroscopy-verified laryngomalacia.

Results

The study included 79 infants, with a median corrected age of 8 weeks (interquartile range, IQR 5-13) and a laryngomalacia clinical score of 10/14 (IQR 7-11). Most (78%) PSG studies were daytime studies. In PSG, laryngomalacia-related breathing difficulty appeared as a sleep stage and position-dependent OSA with laborious breathing. PSG allowed position comparison in 69 infants. In the supine sleeping position, a median obstructive apnea a

SUBMITTER: Kirjavainen T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12507697 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature