Objective: To describe the clinical features of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in hospitalized pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) patients, and to explore its impact on the severity of disease and management among patients with PTE.
Methods: Demographic and clinical characteristics of 28 PTE patients complicated with OSAHS admitted to this hospital from January 2002 to December 2010 were analyzed. A total of 30 PTE patients without OSAHS served as a control group.
Results: PTE patients with OSAHS had a significantly lower age of onset of disease [(55 ± 11) yr vs (66 ± 11) yr, t = 3.230, P < 0.01], an increased body mass index (BMI) [(30.1 ± 2.8) kg/m(2) vs (26.1 ± 3.1) kg/m(2), t = -4.161, P < 0.001] and a higher smoking index [(19 ± 6) packs/yr vs (8 ± 4) packs/yr, t = -1.713, P < 0.05] when compared with PTE patients without OSAHS. PaO2 [(70 ± 8) mm Hg vs (79 ± 6) mm Hg, 1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa, t = 4.233, P < 0.05] and involved lung segments [(8 ± 4) vs (5 ± 3), t = -2.496, P < 0.05] in PTE patients with OSAHS were more severe than those in PTE patients without OSAHS. All patients received anticoagulation and/or thrombolysis treatment, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation was used in some PTE patients with OSAHS.
Conclusion: PTE patients with OSAHS had a significantly earlier age of onset of disease and more severe conditions than PTE patients without OSAHS. Treatments including anticoagulation and CPAP should be used in these patients.