A mother notes her child's snoring is choppy and gasping; which condition most likely causes this obstruction?

• A. Inclusion cysts
• B. High-arched palate
• C. Enlarged adenoids
• D. Geographic tongue

Answer: (C)

Enlarged adenoids block the nasopharyngeal airway, especially during sleep when airway muscle tone drops. This partial obstruction causes the child to snore and have intermittent gasping or pauses as airflow collapses and reopens, which is a classic pattern of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing in kids. The adenoids sit high behind the nose in the throat, so their hypertrophy directly narrows the passageway that air must traverse from the nose to the lungs.

Other options don’t fit the acute airway obstruction pattern. Inclusion cysts could cause obstruction but aren’t a common source of snoring with gasps in children. A high-arched palate can be associated with chronic mouth breathing but is more a consequence of nasal obstruction than the immediate cause. Geographic tongue is unrelated to airway blockage.