Sleep Center

The multidisciplinary, American Academy of Sleep Medicine accredited Pediatric Sleep Center and Laboratory at St. Louis Children’s Hospital serves children who have or are suspected of having sleep-related breathing disorders, need for mechanical support of breathing during sleep, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movements, insomnia, excessive daytime somnolence, nighttime seizures, and many other problems associated with or worsened during sleep.

Diagnostic services

Outpatient clinic evaluations and full-scale, overnight polysomnography are used to assess sleep quality, determine the presence of sleep-disordered breathing, including apnea and its cause (central or obstructive), and identify explanations for sleep disruption. The core staff of the Pediatric Sleep Center includes board-certified pediatricians from the pulmonology and neurology divisions, sleep nurses and educators, the laboratory technical director and certified sleep laboratory technicians. The Pediatric Sleep Center also works closely with pediatric pulmonologists, neurologists, pediatric otolaryngologists, psychologists and specialty nurse practitioners to optimize the care of patients with sleep-related disorders. Trainees from the Washington University Sleep Fellowship Program also participate in the care of children with sleep disorders at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Treatment services

As a certified sleep center, treatment services and referrals are provided for all children and adolescents with problems diagnosed through our center and, if feasible, for those referred from other centers. Children and adolescents with narcolepsy have access to our pediatric neurologists. Early referrals for otolaryngology evaluation at St. Louis Children’s Hospital are available. The sleep laboratory staff, nurses, and respiratory therapists have extensive expertise in managing non-invasive ventilation (CPAP and BiPAP) in children.