Effect of Myofunctional Therapy on Children With Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Meta-Analysis
Sleep Medicine
Bandyopadhyay, A., Kaneshiro, K., et al. (2020).
Sleep Medicine, 75, 210-217.
This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the effects of myofunctional therapy on the respiratory outcomes of children with obstructive sleep apnea. It is important to note that obstructive sleep apnea measurement and outcomes are not within the speech-language pathologist's scope of practice; however, orofacial myofunctional therapy is within the purview of speech-language pathologists.
No funding received
Inception through May 1, 2020
Randomized controlled trials and prospective, retrospective case control designs
9
Myofunctional therapy reduced apnea hypopnea index by 43% [4.32 (5.2) to 2.48 (4.0) events/hour] and increased mean oxygen saturation by 0.37 (95% CI 0.06, 0.69) in children with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. No significant differences were found in lowest oxygen saturations. Limitations of this review include lack of long term follow up, varied treatment dosages and methodological quality of included studies.
