Nasal Steroid Sprays and Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Medscape has a review of a study in the June issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery about how nasal steroid sprays may improve obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children.

Researchers compared the amount of an inflammatory cytokine called interleukin-6 (IL-6) in adenoids removed from children who were treated with a nasal steroid spray to controls who did not receive any nasal spray. The results showed that the adenoid cells released less IL-6 in those children who received the nasal steroid spray. The authors think that reducing IL-6 levels could reduce inflammation in the nasopharynx, which could improve nasal airflow, and consequently improve OSA.

These results are exciting because it could mean that treating nasal airway inflammation with a nasal spray might be an alternative to surgery in treating mild OSA in children.