Fulltext

Association of Unrecognized Obstructive Sleep Apnea With Postoperative Cardiovascular Events in Patients Undergoing Major Noncardiac Surgery

Chan MTV 1 , Wang CY 2 , Seet E 3 , Tam S 4 , Lai HY 2 , Chew EFF 5 Show all authors , Wu WKK 1 , Cheng BCP 6 , Lam CKM 6 , Short TG 7 , Hui DSC 1 , Chung F 8 , Postoperative Vascular Complications in Unrecognized Obstructive Sleep Apnea (POSA) Study Investigators

Affiliations 

  • 1 Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
  • 2 University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore
  • 4 Scarborough Health Network, Ontario, Canada
  • 5 Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 6 Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
  • 7 Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
  • 8 Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
JAMA, 2019 May 14;321(18):1788-1798.
PMID: 31087023 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2019.4783

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Unrecognized obstructive sleep apnea increases cardiovascular risks in the general population, but whether obstructive sleep apnea poses a similar risk in the perioperative period remains uncertain.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the association between obstructive sleep apnea and 30-day risk of cardiovascular complications after major noncardiac surgery.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective cohort study involving adult at-risk patients without prior diagnosis of sleep apnea and undergoing major noncardiac surgery from 8 hospitals in 5 countries between January 2012 and July 2017, with follow-up until August 2017. Postoperative monitoring included nocturnal pulse oximetry and measurement of cardiac troponin concentrations.

EXPOSURES: Obstructive sleep apnea was classified as mild (respiratory event index [REI] 5-14.9 events/h), moderate (REI 15-30), and severe (REI >30), based on preoperative portable sleep monitoring.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was a composite of myocardial injury, cardiac death, heart failure, thromboembolism, atrial fibrillation, and stroke within 30 days of surgery. Proportional-hazards analysis was used to determine the association between obstructive sleep apnea and postoperative cardiovascular complications.

RESULTS: Among a total of 1364 patients recruited for the study, 1218 patients (mean age, 67 [SD, 9] years; 40.2% women) were included in the analyses. At 30 days after surgery, rates of the primary outcome were 30.1% (41/136) for patients with severe OSA, 22.1% (52/235) for patients with moderate OSA, 19.0% (86/452) for patients with mild OSA, and 14.2% (56/395) for patients with no OSA. OSA was associated with higher risk for the primary outcome (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.49 [95% CI, 1.19-2.01]; P = .01); however, the association was significant only among patients with severe OSA (adjusted HR, 2.23 [95% CI, 1.49-3.34]; P = .001) and not among those with moderate OSA (adjusted HR, 1.47 [95% CI, 0.98-2.09]; P = .07) or mild OSA (adjusted HR, 1.36 [95% CI, 0.97-1.91]; P = .08) (P = .01 for interaction). The mean cumulative duration of oxyhemoglobin desaturation less than 80% during the first 3 postoperative nights in patients with cardiovascular complications (23.1 [95% CI, 15.5-27.7] minutes) was longer than in those without (10.2 [95% CI, 7.8-10.9] minutes) (P 

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

MeSH terms
Similar publications