Sleep Center

Sleep Disorders

While there is a range of sleep disorders affecting children, the most common disorders include:

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea
• Central Sleep Apnea
• Parasomnias (abnormal sleep behaviors)
• Restless leg/ periodic limb movement disorder
• Hypoventilation syndromes
• Narcolepsy
• Hypersomnia
• Circadian Rhythm Disorders

Sleep Center Test and Studies

Our center uses state of the art equipment, including transcutaneous carbon dioxide monitoring for every patient being tested. This gives the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio – Sleep Center a unique advantage, as most other sleep programs in the area generally only have one or two units per facility. Our center also utilizes a portable polysomnography unit, which gives us the ability to provide bedside sleep studies for hospitalized patients when the need arises.

Our most common tests include:

Multiple sleep latency test (MSLT):

The MSLT tests for excessive daytime sleepiness by measuring how quickly you fall asleep in a quiet environment during the day. Also known as a daytime nap study, the MSLT is the standard tool used to diagnose narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia.

Diagnostic Polysomnography and Therapeutic Polysomnography:

A polysomnography, better known as a sleep study, consists of an overnight monitoring session.  Various sensors are placed on the child so that different parts of the sleep episode can be tracked. This includes respiration, pulse, heart function, lung function, movements of the eye, chin and leg as well as brain wave patterns (EEG). A one-night sleep study results in an enormous amount of information which can assist the medical team in an appropriate diagnosis. In the morning, the infant, child or adolescent goes home, but the team organizes and analyses the information gathered to determine the most likely cause of the sleep problem.

Autography:

A specialized wristwatch-like device is used to monitor the rest/activity rhythms of the patents.
Diagnostic sleep studies may be followed by medical interventions (i.e. supplemental oxygen, CPAP/BiPAP therapy, mechanical ventilation) and/or further evaluation by a pediatric sleep specialist or additional pediatric subspecialist physician.

Sleep Center Team

Our team in the Sleep Center consist of six sleep technologists who provide diagnostic services to our patients from 7:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. They are directed by a pediatric sleep specialist who is board certified in pediatrics and sleep medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Two of our sleep technologists are also Registered Respiratory Therapists. Having them on staff gives us the ability to provide service to patients with compromised respiratory diseases. We perform sleep studies using the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommended guidelines of a 2:1 technologist to patient ratio. Patients with special needs may have a 1:1 technologist to patient ratio, as determined on a per-case basis.

Our daytime staff consists of the Medical Director, Clinical Director, a sleep technologist/sleep scorer, and our Sleep Center Coordinator/Scheduler. When daytime sleep testing is required, the daytime scoring technologist performs the sleep studies and scores the nighttime sleep studies using the AASM recommended guidelines.