Daytime sleepiness in children: When a quiet child is not necessarily a good thing

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in children is a common but under-recognized symptom. A quiet child is a “good” child who does not cause problems and may be ignored by a busy teacher in an overcrowded classroom, or a harried parent juggling household and work responsibilities. EDS is common; in a community-based sample of school-aged children, the prevalence of parent or teacher-reported EDS was es timated at 15% [1]. However, few of these children will come to medical attention, and it thus behooves the pediatrician to ask questions regarding sleep during regular health maintenance visits.
Source: Paediatric Respiratory Reviews - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Mini-Symposium: Pediatric Hypersomnolence Symposium Source Type: research