Powered intracapsular tonsillectomy aids pediatric OSA

(HealthDay)—Powered intracapsular tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (PITA) improves severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in pediatric patients, according to a study published online Dec. 30 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Nadia Mostovych, M.D., from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and colleagues assessed the medical records of 70 children (56 percent boys; median age, 3.7 years) with severe OSA to evaluate the effectiveness of PITA based on polysomnographic parameters.

The researchers observed significant mean decreases in the postoperative apnea-hypopnea index (P < 0.001), obstructive apnea index (P < 0.001), obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (P < 0.001), arousal index (P < 0.001), percentage of total sleep time spent snoring (P = 0.001), and oxygen desaturation index of 4 percent or more (P < 0.001). There were significant increases noted in mean oxygen saturation (P < 0.001) and oxygen saturation nadir (P < 0.001).

"Results are comparable to those described for traditional electrocautery tonsillectomy and support the use of PITA for the treatment of severe OSA in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy," the authors write.