There is a critical need for safe and effective treatment options for persistent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with Hypotonic Upper Airway Obstruction (HUAO). HUAO encompass conditions such as cerebral palsy, hypoxic encephalopathy, syndromic tone anomalies, and neuromuscular disorders, and typically share a similar pattern of multisite upper airway collapse. OSA is characterized by recurrent episodes of partial or complete upper airway obstruction during sleep with associated arousals and/ or oxygen desaturations. Of hypotonic patients with symptoms of sleep disordered breathing, one quarter have moderate OSA, and more than half have severe OSA. Thus, not only are patients more likely to have OSA, but it is likely to be much more severe. Currently available treatment options, ranging from palliative care to tracheostomy, often fail to fully meet the needs of these patients. The multidisciplinary team has developed a dramatically effective non-surgical nasopharyngeal airway stent that has demonstrated good tolerability in hypotonic patients. This initial phase will test an enhanced version of the device for acceptability and tolerability. Critically, insertion, adherence, and compliance protocols will be optimized for preparation of the full trial.
Children with hypotonic upper airway obstruction have a high prevalence of severe obstructive sleep apnea, which if not treated has significant clinical consequence. Available treatment approaches, such as surgery and positive airway pressure, show limited efficacy and adherence. The multidisciplinary team has developed and now proposes to further test a non-surgical, well-tolerated nasopharyngeal airway device that in initial patients has resolved even extremely severe obstructive sleep apnea, and improved patient and family quality of life.