[Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism: clinical features and management].

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.