In Kids, a Urine Test for Sleep Apnea May Be Viable Alternative to PSG

Notes from Dr. Norman Blumenstock
Early diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in children has benefits especially if can be done as simply as a urine test.

Published on August 4, 2014
A sleep apnea test being referred to as “less stressful” for children was presented at the 2014 American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo. The meeting was held July 27 to 31 in Chicago.

Obstructive sleep apnea in children can lead to behavioral difficulties, learning disabilities, pulmonary/systemic hypertension, and decreased growth. However, the current gold standard for diagnosing sleep apnea—the overnight sleep study—is labor intensive, expensive, and limited by availability, in addition to being a potentially traumatic experience for children, says Trevor Pitcher, PhD. At the AACC annual meeting, Pitcher, a clinical chemistry fellow at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, reported the results of research showing that an immunoassay can effectively detect in urine the stress-coping peptide urocortin 3, which is significantly increased in children with sleep apnea. This urine test could serve as a psychologically easier alternative to a child spending a night in a strange bed in a sleep clinic, he says.