Using Personal Mobile Technology to Identify Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children With Down Syndrome (UPLOAD)

Children with Down syndrome have approximately a 50% chance of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in their lifetime. OSA is a serious condition where a person stops breathing periodically during sleep; it is associated with high blood pressure, behavioural issues, and lower quality of life. Early diagnosis and treatment is critical, but the best way to diagnose OSA, a 'sleep study', is in short supply. Given the limited resources, this study aims to see if mobile video clips (smartphone recordings) can be used to screen children with Down syndrome to identify those at highest risk of OSA, so they can be prioritized for an earlier sleep study.

Parents of children with Down syndrome, recruited from clinic, will be asked to record short video clips of their child sleeping. Parents will independently rate whether they think their child has OSA and how severe it is, based on the videos, as will two clinicians. Parents will also watch an educational webinar and be asked to re-rate the presence and severity of OSA in their child, to see if the webinar improves their accuracy. Finally, children will undergo a sleep study to compare to the ratings. This study will help determine whether videos can be used to accurately screen for OSA in this high risk population, prioritizing children for earlier diagnosis and treatment.