Cardiorespiratory sleep studies for children can often be performed in the home

We developed a portable recording system, suitable for unattended use in a patient's home, that quantitates the essential diagnostic elements of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea sysndrome (OSAS): obstructive, mixed and central apneas and hyponeas: hemoglobin saturation, sleep vs. wakefulness; body and head positions: snoring; and sleep disturbance. The present paper reviews validation studies and summarizes two recent studies that demonstrate the unique advantages of performing clinical and research cardiorespiratory sleep studies in the child's home. Development of inexpensive, portable recorders that integrate audiovisual and physiologic information will make such home recordings more widely available.