ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by repeated apnea, hypopnea, and micro-arousals during sleep. Many studies have described correlations between OSA and multiple systemic diseases, such as cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and metabolic diseases. The aim of this study was to determine whether the compliance of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) affects the short-term systemic responses in OSA patients. METHODS: Twenty-four newly diagnosed OSA patients were enrolled. All subjects used CPAP for 4 weeks. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the rate of using CPAP over 4 hours per night. Complete blood cell count, coagulation results, blood chemistry, lipid profiles, and pulmonary function results were evaluated at baseline, and were followed up after 4 weeks. RESULTS: After CPAP treatment, WBC count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, albumin, AST, ALT, Cl, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were significantly changed in the higher compliance group (n=14), whereas platelet count and triglyceride levels were significantly changed in the lower compliance group (n=10). In multivariate analysis, the changes in WBC count, hemoglobin and hematocrit were statistically significant between the higher compliance and lower compliance groups (p=0.0056, 0.0016, and 0.0051). CONCLUSION: The compliance of CPAP affects the short-term systemic responses in OSA patient.