Clinical trial Recruiting at 1 site Observational Ages 4 to 17

Tongue movement tests to predict airway blockage during sleep in children

Official title: Tongue Motor Functions Assessment as a Screening Tool for Obstructive Sleep Disordered Breathing in Children

Run by Université Catholique de Louvain · NCT06792045 · Data updated 2026-11-12

This project will test whether simple tongue movement tests can predict where and how much a child's airway closes during sleep for children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing who are scheduled for tonsil or adenoid removal.

More Sleep-Disordered Breathing trials

Quick facts

Study typeObservational
Ages4 Years to 17 Years
SexAll
Enrollment48 (estimated)
SponsorUniversité Catholique de Louvain
Academic / other
Locations1 site (Brussels)
StatusRecruiting
StartedAugust 22, 2025
Main results expectedOctober 2027
Study endsOctober 2027
Registry record updatedNovember 4, 2026
Trial IDNCT06792045 on ClinicalTrials.gov

Is this trial a fit for you?

Likely a good fit

Children aged 6–17 with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing who are eligible for tonsil and/or adenoid surgery and who have a positive Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire are ideal candidates.

Probably not a fit

Children with neurological, cardiac, or respiratory comorbidities, prior upper airway surgery, craniofacial malformations, or contraindications to endoscopy are unlikely to benefit from or be eligible for this project.

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This observational study enrolls children aged 6–17 with diagnosed obstructive sleep-disordered breathing who are scheduled for tonsil and/or adenoid removal. At a pre-surgical visit a physiotherapist will perform standardized tongue motor function tests and ENT clinicians will perform routine assessments. Participants will undergo drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) prior to surgery to directly visualize the site and degree of airway obstruction. Researchers will compare tongue motor measurements with DISE findings to see if tongue function predicts tongue-base obstruction.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, clinicians could use simple, noninvasive tongue tests to better identify children whose airway collapse is driven by the tongue base, improving treatment selection and potentially avoiding unnecessary procedures.

How similar studies have gone: Drug-induced sleep endoscopy is an established diagnostic tool, but using tongue motor function tests to predict tongue-base obstruction in children is relatively novel with limited prior data.

Who can join: the full rules

Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria:

* Age between 4 and 17 years old
* Medical diagnosis of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing requiring surgical removal of tonsils (partial or total) and/or adenoids, excluding type III (e.g., linked to a neurological comorbidity)
* Positive Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (8 or more positive responses)
* Eligibility for surgical intervention

Exclusion Criteria:

* Previous surgery of the upper airway or oral cavity
* History of or current head or neck cancer
* Cranial, upper airway, or oral cavity malformation
* Contraindication to performing the assessments

Where it's running

  • Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc
    Brussels, Belgium
    Recruiting

Study contacts

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

How to take part

  1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
  2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
  3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.