Background: Children with asthma are at increased risk for obstructive breathing during sleep. Adenotonsillectomy, the treatment of choice for obstructive breathing during sleep, is associated with significant postoperative respiratory morbidity.
Objective: To determine whether asthma is a risk factor for respiratory complications after adenotonsillectomy in children with obstructive breathing during sleep.
Methods: This case-control study compared 115 children aged 3 to 18 years with respiratory complications after adenotonsillectomy (study group) with 115 children without respiratory complications after adenotonsillectomy (control group).
Results: The postoperative respiratory complications ranged from oxygen desaturation to respiratory failure that required mechanical ventilation. The study group had a higher proportion of children with asthma (P < .01). Logistic regression analysis showed that asthma increases the odds of postoperative respiratory complications to 4.4 (95% confidence interval, 2.13-9.0), after controlling for age, weight greater than the 97th percentile for age, sex, race, and medical conditions other than asthma.
Conclusions: In children with obstructive breathing during sleep, the presence of asthma is associated with an increased risk of respiratory complications after adenotonsillectomy.