A clinical history and physical examination are not sufficiently reliable to differentiate primary snoring from obstructive sleep apnoea. If the doctor suspects that your child has obstructive sleep apnoea, he will refer your child to a paediatric sleep specialist for review, and for an overnight polysomnography (sleep study).
Your child will be admitted overnight to a single room in a sleep laboratory, where his/her sleep and breathing will be monitored and recorded continuously during sleep.
There will be sensors placed on your child’s head and body, and elastic bands placed around his/her chest and abdomen, connected by wires to a computer system that records the data.
This is not a painful procedure, and most children will be able to fall asleep, after they get used to the set-up. A caregiver is allowed to stay overnight with the child during the study.
