Sleep apnea-hypopnea in children: Evidence that Lize Tongqi decoction with acupuncture, moxibustion, and Xinwu acupoint stimulation is superior to standard Western treatment using montelucast/mometasone furoate.
Yu-Jie Wang, Miao-Yuan Li, Yong Zheng et al.
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In 30 seconds
This randomized controlled trial compared a combined traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture-based regimen with montelukast plus mometasone in 60 children with snoring (mean age 7.9 years). Over 8 weeks, the intervention group had significantly greater improvements in nasal congestion, nocturnal snoring, mouth breathing, OSA-18 quality-of-life scores, and adenoid-to-nasopharyngeal ratios than the control group (between-group differences p < 0.05). No adverse events were observed in either group. The abstract does not report the magnitude of these between-group differences.
Key findings
- After 8 weeks, nasal congestion, snoring, and mouth breathing improved more with the combined regimen than with montelukast and mometasone (p < 0.05).
- Reductions in OSA-18 scores and adenoid-to-nasopharyngeal ratios were significantly greater in the intervention group (p < 0.05).
- No adverse events were observed in either group.
Why it matters
The trial reports improvements in both symptoms and measured quality-of-life and adenoid-related outcomes in children treated with a multimodal regimen. These findings may inform consideration of non-surgical approaches for pediatric snoring, while the abstract provides no effect-size estimates to judge the clinical magnitude of benefit.
What to keep in mind
The trial included 60 children and followed treatment outcomes over 8 weeks; the abstract does not report effect-size estimates.