Obstructive sleep apnea is highly prevalent in COVID19 moderate to severe ARDS survivors: Findings of level I Polysomnography in a tertiary care hospital

Study Objectives Studies have found Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) as a risk factor for increased risk for COVID19 Acute respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS); but most of the studies were done in already known patients of OSA. This study was done to find prevalence of OSA in patients with COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome. Methodology A hospital based longitudinal study was conducted among COVID 19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) survivors. All consecutive COVID19 with moderate to severe ARDS were evaluated for OSA by Level I Polysomnography (PSG) after 4-6 weeks of discharge. Prevalence of OSA and PSG variables {Total sleep time, Sleep efficiency, sleep stage percentage, Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI), T90, nadir oxygen} was estimated. Results Out of 103 patients discharged from ICU during study period (October 2020 to 15 December 2020), 67 underwent Level I PSG. Mean Age was 52.6±10.9 years and mean Body Mass Index was 27.5 ± 6.2 Kg/m 2 . Total sleep time was 343.2 ± 86 minutes, sleep efficiency was 75.9±14.2%. OSA (AHI ≥5) was seen in 65/67 patients and 49 patients had moderate to severe OSA (i.e. AHI ≥ 15). Conclusion Moderate-severe OSA was highly prevalent (73%) in COVID19 moderate to severe ARDS survivors. Role of OSA in pathophysiology of COVID19 ARDS needs further evaluation. Highlights This study was done to find prevalence of OSA in patients with COVID-19 related Acute respiratory distress syndrome Moderate-severe OSA is highly prevalent (73%) in COVID19 ARDS survivors. To the best of our knowledge, it is first study in which level I PSG was done in COVID19 survivors.