Overnight pulse oximetry in snoring and non-snoring children.

The effect of snoring on overnight pulse oximetry recordings in the paediatric community was investigated. A random sample of 222 children up to 10 years of age from the town of Frome, Somerset, UK, had overnight pulse oximetry performed in the home environment. The oximetry recordings obtained from 58 snoring and 164 non-snoring subjects were compared. No clinically relevant difference in oxygen saturation level could be detected between these two groups of children. In conclusion, snoring in children up to 10 years of age is common, 11% often snore. It is not associated with hypoxia as measured by overnight pulse oximetry. This would suggest that surgical intervention for the symptom of snoring alone is not indicated.