Pediatric OSA improved with oral montelukast

The majority of children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who took oral montelukast showed reductions in their apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) scores, according to the results of a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study. Typically, OSA in children is treated with adenotonsillectomy, explained Leila Kheirandish-Gozal, MD, director of clinical sleep research at the University of Chicago, and her colleagues. However, in this study, children were given either montelukast or placebo for 16 weeks and then participated in an overnight polysomnographic study. Seventy-one percent of the patients who took montelukast had fewer AHI events per hour of total sleep time at the end of the study. To learn more, see Family Practice News: http://www.mdedge.com/familypracticenews/article/116479/pulmonology/pediatric-osa-improved-oral-montelukast.