Table 1: Comparisons of the rates of each reported symptom before and after RME.

Symptoms Pre-RME Post-RME Absolute Difference in Rates between
Pre-RME and Post-RME
Relative Difference, % Change after RME McNemar’s Test
- N (%) N (%) % % p value
Sleep Apnea Symptoms and Breathing Patterns (9 items) - - - - -
Snoring half of the time 32 (37.2) 6 (7.0) 30.2 81.2 <0.0001
Always snoring 19 (22.4) 1 (11.2) 11.2 50.0 <0.0001
Snore loudly 23 (27.4) 3 (3.6) 23.8 86.9 <0.0001
Heavy breathing 51 (62.2) 20 (24.4) 37.8 60.8 <0.0001
Trouble breathing 13 (15.5) 4 (4.8) 10.7 69.0 <0.0001
Stop breathing 9 (10.2) 4 (4.6) 5.6 54.9 0.096
Breathing through the mouth 54 (63.5) 37 (43.5) 20 31.5 0.003
Dry mouth in the morning 52 (61.9) 27 (32.1) 29.8 48.1 <0.0001
Wet the bed 18 (20.2) 10 (11.2) 9 44.6 0.01
Sleep Quality and Fatigue (7 items) - - - - -
Feeling unrefreshed 33 (37.1) 11 (12.4) 24.7 66.6 <0.0001
Sleepiness during the day 22 (24.4) 8 (8.9) 15.5 63.5 0.002
Teacher comment on sleepiness 9 (9.9) 2 (2.2) 7.7 77.8 0.02
Hard to wake up in the morning 29 (31.9) 13 (14.3) 17.6 55.2 0.002
Headache in the morning 6 (6.7) 0 6.7 100.0 /
Normal growth rate 8 (8.9) 3 (3.3) 5.6 62.9 0.096
Overweight 3 (3.3) 1 (1.1) 2.2 66.7 0.16
Behavioral Changes (6 items) - - - - -
Listens when spoken to directly 24 (27.6) 18 (20.7) 6.9 25.0 0.18
Difficulty organizing tasks and activities 25 (27.8) 15 (16.7) 11.1 39.9 0.02
Easily distracted 36 (41.4) 29 (33.3) 8.1 19.6 0.09
Fidgets with hands and feet or squirms in seat 38 (42.7) 34 (38.2) 4.5 10.5 0.32
Child on the go or driven by motor 27 (30.3) 23 (25.8) 4.5 14.9 0.29
Interrupts or intrudes on others 30 (35.3) 22 (25.9) 9.4 26.6 0.06

RME, rapid maxillary expansion. Values in bold are significant at p < 0.05.