Pediatric Sleep Medicine Services Expand to Include Inpatient Studies

Inpatient setting benefits some patients with complex needs

Pediatric Sleep Medicine services at K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center have been expanded to include inpatient studies.

A good night’s sleep is critical to the physical and mental wellness and development of a child. An overnight sleep study can identify reasons that prevent a child from getting a good night’s sleep. A sleep study, or polysomnography, provides information about sleep patterns, leg movements, blood oxygen levels, heart rhythm, breathing and snoring. Sleep specialists evaluate this information and determine if a child has a sleep disorder. A child’s pediatrician is provided with diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

Conducting inpatient studies eliminates the need to move patients to the Center for Sleep Medicine or to wait to do a study once a patient is released from the hospital. Patients that benefit from having their sleep studies done in the hospital may include:

• Children with significant developmental delays/behavioral issues that benefit from child life intervention/play therapy during the study.
• Children with complex respiratory conditions such as those with tracheostomy tubes, and/or dependent on mechanical ventilators.
• Children that are not able to self-transfer to their bed.

A range of pediatric sleep conditions are evaluated, including:

• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Central sleep apnea
• Periodic limb movement disorder
• Narcolepsy (with the aid of a daytime test the following day)
• Parasomnia (such as sleep terrors, kicking, sleepwalking or nightmares)

The sleep center offered by Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health is the first in the region offering first-class sleep diagnostics and treatment to infants, children, adolescents and young adults. Chee Chun Tan, M.D., a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist at K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, serves as the primary attending for the pediatric sleep medicine program.

Learn more about our advancements in pediatric pulmonology.