Night Terrors Workup

  • Author: Mark Anderson, MD; Chief Editor: Caroly Pataki, MD   more...
 
Updated: Jan 18, 2011
 

Laboratory Studies

No consistent irregularities in laboratory evaluation have been identified, and no additional work-up is required in a classic sleep terror presentation.

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Imaging Studies

No specific imaging is indicated with normal development and no focal neurological abnormalities. If trauma during an episode has been sustained, appropriate imaging should be sought to evaluate the injury.

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Other Tests

A sleep diary may help families identify particular triggers for sleep terror events. Co-morbidities should be investigated independent of their sleep terror association.

Further evaluation and intervention may be required for individuals with significant daytime somnolence, violent behavior during the episodes that threaten harm to self or others, or in situations where the sleep terrors generate severe distress to family members. Polysomnography is useful if a respiratory disturbance is suspected. When nocturnal seizures are a possibility, a routine EEG or sleep-deprived EEG may be helpful.[11]

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Mark Anderson, MD  Lt Col, United States Air Force, 75th Medical Squadron

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Chet Johnson, MD  Medical Director, Child Development Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center

Chet Johnson, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mary L Windle, PharmD  Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Carrie Sylvester, MD, MPH  Director of Education in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Northwestern University Medical School

Carrie Sylvester, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Women's Association, American Psychiatric Association, and American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Caroly Pataki, MD  Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, Division Chair, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California

Caroly Pataki, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York Academy of Sciences, and Physicians for Social Responsibility

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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  2. Hublin C, Kaprio J. Genetic aspects and genetic epidemiology of parasomnias. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2003;7(5):413-421.

  3. Lecendreux M, Mayer G, Bassetti C, et al. HLA association in sleepwalking. Mol Psychiatry. 2003;8:114-7.

  4. Bisulli F, Vignatelli L, Naldi I, et al. Increased frequency of arousal parasomnias in families with nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy: A common mechanism?. Epilepsia. 2010;51(9):1852-1860.

  5. DiMario FJ Jr, Emery ES 3rd. The natural history of night terrors. Clin Pediatr (Phila). Oct 1987;26(10):505-11. [Medline].

  6. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.

  7. Pressman MR. Disorders of arousal from sleep and violent behavior: the role of physical contact and proximity. SLEEP. 2007;30(8):1039-1047.

  8. Guilleminault C, Palombini L, Pelayo R, Chervin RD. Sleepwalking and sleep terrors in prepubertal children: what triggers them?. Pediatrics. Jan 2003;111(1):e17-25. [Medline].

  9. Mindell JA & Owens JA. A Clinical Guide to Pediatric Sleep: Diagnosis and Management ofSleep Problems. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2003.

  10. Pressman, M. Factors that predispose, prime and precipitate NREM parasomnias in adults: clinical and forensic implications. Sleep Med. Rev. 2007;11:5-30.

  11. Moore M, Allison A, and Rosen CL. A review of pediatric nonrespiratory sleep disorders. Chest. 2006;130(4):1252-1262.

  12. Frank NC, Spirito A, Stark L, and Owens-Stively A. The use of scheduled awakenings to eliminate childhood sleep walking. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 1997;22:345-353.

  13. Ohayon MM, Guilleminault C, Priest RG. Night terrors, sleepwalking, and confusional arousals in the general population: their frequency and relationship to other sleep and mental disorders. J Clin Psychiatry. Apr 1999;60(4):268-76.

  14. Dahl RE. The pharmacologic treatment of sleep disorders. Psychiatr Clin North Am. Mar 1992;15(1):161-78. [Medline].

  15. Mason TB 2nd, Pack AI. Sleep terrors in childhood. J Pediatr. Sep 2005;147(3):388-92. [Medline].

  16. Siegel JM. Why we sleep. Sci Am. Nov 2003;289(5):92-7. [Medline].

  17. Stores G. Aspects of parasomnias in childhood and adolescence. Arch Dis Child. Jan 2009;94(1):63-9. [Medline].

 
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