Inflammatory factors: Nonobese pediatric obstructive sleep apnea and adenotonsillectomy

Background: Inflammation is often considered relating to pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We conducted a study investigating cytokines, including Il-17 and Il-23, in children with OSA before and after adenotonsillectomy (T&A), compared with controls. Methods: Children with OSA between age 4 and 12 receiving T&A were prospectively followed. Evaluation before and reevaluation six months after the treatment were done, including polysomnography (PSG), blood tests, and questionnaires. Blood samples were obtained to determine the values of high-sensitivity-C-reactive-protein (HS-CRP); tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha (TNF-α); and interleukin (IL)-1, 6, 10, 12, 17, and 23. We compared the results with an age-matched control group. Results: We included 55 OSA children and 32 controls. Children with OSA presented significant improvement after T&A in complaints, signs, apnea hypopnea index (AHI) (p < 0.001), mean oxygen desaturation index (p < 0.001), and mean oxygen saturation (p = 0.010). Upon entering this study, children with OSA had significantly higher cytokine levels than the controls and significant changes in HS-CRP (p = 0.013), TNF-α (p = 0.057), IL-1β (p = 0.022), IL-10 (p = 0.035), and IL-17 (p = 0.010) after T&A. Children with improved but persistently abnormal AHI did not have all cytokine levels normalized, particularly IL-23 and HS-CRP. Conclusion: Sleep-disordered breathing can persist after T&A and can continue to have a negative inflammatory effect. HS-CRP and IL-23 may serve as blood markers for the persistence of sleep-disordered breathing after T&A.