Urinary leukotrienes in pediatric patients with sleep disordered breathing secondary to adenotonsillar hypertrophy

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep disorder breathing (SDB) affects 2%-3% of the pediatric popula- tion, being adenotonsillar hyperplasia (ATH) its main cause. An increase in the levels of urinary leukotrienes (ULT) has been measured in these patients, which could be correla- ted with the severity of the disease. Aim: To determine the level of ULT in children with SDB and ATH before and after ade- notonsillectomy, and healthy controls. To correlate the levels of ULT with symptoms of SDB. Material and method: prospective study. SDB and ATH patients (n =12) and healthy controls (n =12) were included. The concentration of ULT in both groups was determi- ned, before surgery and after a month of surgery. Results: There were no differences in the levels of ULT before and after tonsillec- tomy in the studied group. There were also no differences between the control group and the SDB group. No association was observed between the level of ULT and the severity of respiratory symptoms. Conclusions: ULT are not elevated in patients with SDB and ATH and they do not de­crease after adenotonsillectomy. ULT are not correlated with the severity of the symptoms of SDB. The measurement of ULT would not be a useful tool in the evaluation of patients with SDB. New studies are needed to assess the role of the role of leukotrienes in this disease.