Abstract
Abstract Introduction OSA affects 2-4% of children and untreated OSA can have adverse behavior and quality of life outcomes. 40% of children can have residual obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)despite first line treatment (adenotonsillectomy). Alternative modalities of treatment for OSA are limited. Myofunctional therapy comprises of exercises targeting upper airway muscles that can improve facial growth and have been shown to treat OSA in adults. There is paucity of data on the role of myofunctional therapy (MT) in children. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature for articles evaluating myofunctional therapy (MT) as treatment for OSA in children and to perform a meta-analysis on the polysomnographic and mouth breathing data. Methods Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane were searched from inception through October 1st, 2019. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement was followed. Results Eight studies (91 patients) reported polysomnography and/or mouth breathing outcomes. The pre- and post-MT apnea hypopnea indices (AHI) decreased from a mean ± standard deviation (M ± SD) of 3.75± 3.14/h to 2.08 ± 2.48/h, mean difference (MD) -1.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) -2.42, -0.78], P =0.0001. Mean oxygen saturations improved from 96.03 ± 1.1% to 96.67 ± 0.95%, MD 0.42 (95% CI 0.21, 0.63), P <0.0001. Lowest oxygen saturations improved from 86.6 ± 7.3% to 90.94 ± 3.05%, MD 1.01 (95% CI 0.25, 1.77), P = 0.009. Mouth breathing decreased in all three studies reporting subjective outcomes. Conclusion Current literature demonstrates that myofunctional therapy decreases apnea-hypopnea index by approximately 45% in children with mild obstructive sleep apnea. Mean oxygen saturations, lowest oxygen saturations and mouth breathing outcomes improved in children. Myofunctional therapy could serve as an adjunct to other obstructive sleep apnea treatments. Support None
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