Sleep Study Results

I finally talked to someone from the Pulmonology office who could give me some answers this morning. Let's see if I can summarize. Not-so-good news first. It looks like there were more "obstructive episodes" in this study, although no actual apnea was noted, which has them a little concerned. We are to return to Riley for a Flexible Bronchoscopy, basically they will insert a flexible scope through his nose and look down into his upper airway to see if there is something physically causing these little episodes. One concern they mentioned was the possibility of laryngomalacia, which one of our Docs (Dr. Mark Logan) also does scopes for. I asked about the possibility of having that done here, but it sounds like they go down farther? I don't know, I'll have to do some checking on that one.

The good news is that his gas levels were significantly improved. He was on room air for the majority of the test and had only one O2 dip down to about 81, which improved to normal and stayed there when he was put on 1/4 liter of oxygen (remember he is on 1 liter now). Dr. Stevens wants us to do a home study over night with some sort of recorder that will help determine how much he can down on his oxygen at home. The really good news was the improved CO2 levels. I believe his average from the last test was around 55-57 with a spike up to 94. This time his average was 44 with the highest recorded level at 53!!! Much better - but this doesn't mean we can relax about him getting a cold. That is still not a good idea for this winter - remember he still has a higher respiratory rate than normal, which may be normal for him, but still could cause him problems if he gets a nasty cold. But still, we are breathing a little easier (and Gabe definitely is!). We are going to get a full night sleep study in October, along with our Neuro appt, the bronch/scope, and an oximetry swallow study. We are trying very hard to get it all scheduled together, but don't know if it will be possible. OK, that is the highlights. We are off to the school open house! Don't worry nurses, Gabe is staying here with Grandma.