Paediatric narcolepsy: a review of diagnosis and management

The authors present a comprehensive review of narcolepsy in childhood, including details on our current understanding of pathophysiology, how to investigate a child when a diagnosis is suspected and suggestions for management. Narcolepsy is a chronic disabling neurological sleep disorder that requires lifelong treatment. We have outlined the clinical features of narcolepsy, the assessment and diagnosis process and have summarised the existing treatment options for children and adolescents with narcolepsy. In the future, the approach to management of paediatric narcolepsy should ideally be in a multidisciplinary setting, involving specialists in sleep medicine, sleep physiology, neurologists and psychologists/psychiatrists. A multidisciplinary approach will help to manage the potential impact of narcolepsy on children and adolescents who are in a stage of their life that is critical to their physical, emotional and social development and their academic attainment.