Sleep Lab | Pentest Site

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Children, youth and families Healthcare providers

About the Sleep Lab

The CHEO Sleep Lab is located in clinic C20.

We see children up to 18 years old with symptoms of breathing problems during sleep.  Sleep studies are used to diagnose and manage breathing problems associated with sleep (ex. Obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, hypoventilation), and to guide and adjust treatments for sleep-disordered breathing such as:

Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
Bi-level positive airway pressure (BPAP)

Some children are at higher risk of having symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing, including children with:

underlying obesity
neuromuscular diseases
genetic syndromes (ex. Down Syndrome)
craniofacial anomalies (ex. Pierre Robin Sequence, Pfeiffer Syndrome)

We also evaluate technology-dependent children, such as children receiving home ventilation through a tracheostomy, as well as children with symptoms of a condition called Narcolepsy (ex. very severe sleepiness despite adequate nighttime sleep).

It is important to note that Sleep Studies are NOT helpful in the management of other sleep disorders, such as:

parasomnias (ex. sleepwalking, sleeptalking, night terrors, etc)
insomnia (sleep-onset, ie. difficulty falling asleep; or sleep maintenance, ie. difficulty staying asleep, frequent awakenings)
delayed sleep phase disorder (ie. difficulty falling asleep until late at night, resulting in sleeping late in the morning, common among teens)

For information that may be helpful in understanding and managing these sleep disorders, please see our Sleep Resources page.

NOTE: This page is only for information about the CHEO Sleep Lab. For information about the CHEO Sleep and Home Ventilation Clinic, visit their clinic page.

Please note that while we do prioritize referrals based on the severity of symptoms, given how common these are, there is a long waiting time for sleep studies. Depending on the circumstance, you may expect to wait 1-2 years. If your child’s symptoms worsen in this time please discuss this with their physician, who may send an update if appropriate, or may refer as well to the Sleep Clinic or to other specialists for assessment (ex. Ear, Nose and Throat surgeons).

About our team

Our team includes 3 Physicians, 2 Nurse Practitioners, 2 Respiratory Therapist/Polysomnographers, 3 Sleep-Respiratory Therapists, and 2 Home Ventilation Respiratory Therapists.

We also work with other teams that provide support to our patients, including the Neurodevelopmental Health Team.

Information for children, youth and families

Before your appointment

Please sign up for a MyChart account, prior to your first visit.

Our scheduling team will contact you by phone to schedule an appointment.

Missed Appointments & Late Cancellations
CHEO is committed to providing timely care for children, youth, and families. If this is your first appointment in a clinic or department and you miss two appointments without giving at least 48 hours’ notice, your referral will be returned to the care provider who submitted it. They can then follow up with you to confirm whether you still need or wish to proceed with the referral.

We understand life happens and unforeseen events come up. Please notify us as early as possible by calling 613-737-7600 x2222 — ideally at least 48 hours in advance — if you need to cancel or reschedule. This helps us offer the appointment to another family and keep wait times as short as possible. A cancellation 48 hours or more in advance will not count as a missed appointment.

Visit our Sleep resource page to find a video showing what to expect. You can help your child prepare by showing them the video as well. It also helps to play with them ahead of time to practice some of the things they will experience (ex. play with a stuffed animal with stickers on their head, face and chest, and yarn around their chest and belly; do the same with your child, etc.).

What to bring

Pack a comfort bag – bring items that will help your child be comfortable the night of the study, for example a favourite stuffed animal, blanket, pillow, books to read as part of the bedtime routine, etc.
Please bring any formula, feeding supplies, etc. that you need for the night.
Bring any usual medications your child takes at bedtime.

What to expect during your appointment

Your appointment will be booked for 8 or 9pm.

During your stay, the child or youth's sleep will be monitored. They will be kept overnight, with one staff monitoring up to two children. We will also look at:

Breathing

Sleep stage

Movement

Heart rate

Oxygen

Carbon dioxide levels

When you arrive, the therapist will explain the test and the equipment needed. Sleep studies are not painful. For the sleep study, we will apply sensors to different parts of your child or teen's body (this doesn't hurt). These sensors give us a lot of information about breathing during sleep. During the study, your child or teen will have:

Sensors on the head to monitor brain activity

Elastic belts around the chest and abdomen measure breathing

Sensors under the nose to measure airflow in and out of the nose

A clip on the finger or toe to measure oxygen levels

A microphone to record any snoring

Electrodes on the sides of the eyes to monitor eye movements

Sensors under the chin to measure muscle tone (whether or not the muscles are relaxed)

Some patients have another sensor on the forehead or chest to measure carbon dioxide (air we breathe out).

It takes about 20-30 minutes to put on all the sensors. After this, you can help your child to settle to sleep. Parents or guardians are responsible for the care of children and youth during the sleep study. There is a pull out bed for parents.

The therapist will watch patients while they sleep by video monitor from a separate room. We'll wake you and your child or teen up between 5:30- 6:00 a.m. We'll remove all sensors and you can leave the lab shortly afterwards.

Visit our Resources page to watch a video showing what the sleep lab rooms and set-up look like.

After your appointment

We will send the results to the referring doctor in about 4-12 weeks, depending on the severity of the findings noted the night of the study.

Solutions and treatment options can include:

Changing their sleep schedule

Adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy

Positive airway pressure (CPAP)

Referral to mental health services

Frequently asked questions

How are pediatric sleep labs different from adult labs?

Children and youth have different medical needs than adults do. These are some of the differences:

Our equipment needs to be specialized for children and youth
We may need to spend more time comforting and reassuring a nervous child or parent
Children require more supervision – adult sleep labs can have one technician monitoring up to 4 patients. At CHEO, we have one technician monitoring two children and we limit how many very young children we have in the lab at once
Scoring and diagnostic criteria are different for children and adults

We understand that children and youth aren't just tiny adults — to help them feel comfortable in an unfamiliar setting, they can bring some of these items with them for their stay:

Their own blanket and pillow
A favourite stuffed animal
A book

We also keep most of the equipment out of the room overnight, to help them sleep peacefully.

How can I make an appointment?

All patients must be referred by a Physician or Nurse Practitioner. After a referral is received, we will notify the referring Physician or Nurse Practitioner whether the referral has been accepted or denied, and if accepted we will provide an estimated ideal wait time. The actual wait time, however, will vary based on demand and urgency.

If you would be available for a short notice cancellation spot (ex. would be informed by 4pm, for a spot that night), please let your referring physician know, so that they can include this information on the initial referral.

Once we have an appointment spot to offer, our Scheduling Team will reach you by phone to schedule an appointment.

Sign up for MyChart to access your CHEO health record anywhere, any time.
MyChart is a secure, online patient portal that connects you to parts of your CHEO electronic health record and allows you to send two-way secure communication to your care team, complete any questionnaires your care team sends and much more.
To learn more about MyChart and sign up, visit our MyChart page and fill out the MyChart Access Request Form.

Looking for more resources or supports on Sleep and Sleep studies?

Visit our Sleep resource and support page to find helpful websites, local contacts, videos and more.

Information for healthcare providers

The CHEO Sleep Laboratory is focused on the assessment and management of breathing-related sleep disorders (ex. obstructive sleep apnea), from birth to age 18 years, with a focus on children with complex medical and/or developmental histories.

For otherwise generally healthy children aged 14yo and over with a question of sleep-disordered breathing/OSA or narcolepsy, we recommend referral to either the Royal Ottawa Sleep Centre or West Ottawa Sleep Centre/MedSleep. For Quebec patients, we recommend referral to Somnocor. This will help facilitate timely care. If there is a specific reason you wish the Sleep Study to be performed at CHEO, please specify this on the referral form.

We accept referrals for PSG + MSLT to assess for narcolepsy (ex. symptoms including true hypersomnolence, ie. severe difficulty staying awake during the day, despite appropriate amount of sleep at night - note, this is different than fatigue; sleep attacks, cataplexy, etc.) ONLY from Respirologists and Neurologists. Referrals from other physicians/providers will automatically be redirected to clinic.

Note that sleep studies to not help in the management of behavioural sleep disorders, and so we do not accept referrals for these, including:

parasomnias (sleepwalking/sleeptalking/night terrors)

insomnia (sleep-onset and sleep maintenance)

delayed sleep phase disorder

We recommend:

Provide family with link to CHEO Sleep Resources page

If patient has autism, suggest family attend the Foundational Family Services Sleep Solutions Workshop

Champlain Base eConsult to Dr. H. Myron

Or, if > 14yo referral to Royal Ottawa Sleep Centre or West Ottawa Sleep Clinic/MedSleep

Make a referral

Note: this referral is only for sleep studies. For information about, and to make a referral to the CHEO Sleep Clinic, visit their clinic webpage. If you want to refer to BOTH Sleep Clinic AND for a Sleep Study, both forms must be completed. Waitlist and triage are separate.

All patients must be referred by a Physician. Please fill out the below Sleep Lab request form and mail or fax it to us using the contact information below.

Sleep study request form

Referral criteria and eligibility

Reason for referral/request	Mandatory information to include in referral/request	Other information
Assessment re: Obstructive sleep apnea Central Sleep Apnea Hypoventilation	Relevant clinic information. As per request form: Nocturnal symptoms: snoring - < 3 nights/wk or > 3 nights/wk witnessed pauses with effort – occasional/frequent gasping – occasional/frequent labored breathing mouth breathing secondary enuresis Daytime symptoms: morning headaches excessive somnolence irritability poor concentration poor/declining school performance Physical examination findings: tonsil size BMI %ile Past Medical History. Please specify if any of the following: Obesity Genetic disorder/Syndrome - specify Epilepsy Congenital heart anomaly Pulmonary illness (ex. asthma)	Whether an interpreter is required Whether patient would benefit from Sleep Lab Orientation consultation through Foundational Family Services Whether family open to being booked in a last minute cancellation spot (ie. Would be notified by 4pm for an appointment that night)

Reason for referral/request

Mandatory information to include in referral/request

Other information

Assessment re:

Obstructive sleep apnea

Central Sleep Apnea

Hypoventilation

Relevant clinic information. As per request form:

Nocturnal symptoms:
- snoring - < 3 nights/wk or > 3 nights/wk
- witnessed pauses with effort – occasional/frequent
- gasping – occasional/frequent
- labored breathing
- mouth breathing
- secondary enuresis
Daytime symptoms:
- morning headaches
- excessive somnolence
- irritability
- poor concentration
- poor/declining school performance
- Physical examination findings:
- tonsil size
- BMI %ile
Past Medical History. Please specify if any of the following:
- Obesity
- Genetic disorder/Syndrome - specify
- Epilepsy
- Congenital heart anomaly
- Pulmonary illness (ex. asthma)

Whether an interpreter is required

Whether patient would benefit from Sleep Lab Orientation consultation through Foundational Family Services

Whether family open to being booked in a last minute cancellation spot (ie. Would be notified by 4pm for an appointment that night)

Other information

Failure to include above requested information may impact our ability to accurately triage the referral
For symptoms of OSA, please prescribe a 3 month trial of regular daily nasal steroid and/or montelukast based on relevant indications/contraindications pending assessment in Sleep Lab
Please cancel the referral if:
- Symptoms resolve with the above
- Symptoms resolve spontaneously
- The patient is assessed by ENT and plans made for adenotonsillectomy
If symptoms worsen while your patient is awaiting their sleep study, please do not hesitate to send us a clinical update (please identify as an update to the previous referral and cite date of original referral)
Please note that referrals will be cancelled if the family does not attend a confirmed initial appointment, or if we receive no response after 3 attempts over a month to schedule an appointment. As such, please ensure contact information is accurate on the referral, and please provide an update if information changes.

Contact us

Clinic C-9
Sleep Lab, CHEO
401 Smyth Road
Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1

Fax: 613-738-4298
Main Sleep Lab Reception (C9) (scheduling center): 613-737-7600 extension 2222