Obstructive sleep apnoea in children — branching viva

Station opening

Examiner: "Define obstructive sleep apnoea in children and grade its severity." ^[1]

Strong candidate (must-hit)

• Defines OSA as recurrent partial or complete upper-airway obstruction during sleep with continued respiratory effort, disturbing gas exchange and sleep, and places it at the severe end of the sleep-disordered breathing spectrum that begins with primary snoring; grades severity on the obstructive apnoea-hypopnoea index using paediatric thresholds (mild 1-5, moderate 5-10, severe >10 events per hour) and notes these are lower than adult cut-offs because children are harmed at lower event rates. ^{[1] [4]}

Weak candidate

• "It is when children stop breathing at night; I would use the adult apnoea thresholds." ^[1]