Relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and 30-day mortality among patients with pulmonary embolism

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the most life-threatening form of venous thrombosis which causes the majority of mortalities in this category. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been indicated as one of the risk factors for thromboembolism because of hemostatic alterations. The present study was designed to seek for the relationship between OSA and 30-day mortality of patients with PE. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted among 137 consecutive patients referred to hospital with symptoms of PE and preliminary stable hemodynamic. Confirmation of PE was made by multislice computed tomography pulmonary angiography and in the case of contraindication; V/Q lung scan and Doppler sonography were done. A STOP-Bang Questionnaire was used to determine patients with high- and low-risk of OSA. Patients were followed up for 1-month, and their survivals were recorded. Results: This study showed that there was no relationship between OSA and 30-day mortality (P = 0.389). Chronic kidney disease (P = 0.004), hypertension (P = 0.003), main thrombus (P = 0.004), and segmental thrombus (P = 0.022) were associated with 30-day mortality. In the logistic regression analysis, history of chronic kidney disease was diagnosed as a risk factor for 30-day mortality among the PE patients (P = 0.029, odds ratio = 4.93). Conclusion: Results of this study showed 30-day mortality was not affected by OSA directly. In fact, it was affected by complications of OSA such as hypertension and thrombus. Also, positive history of chronic kidney disease increased the risk of 30-day mortality.