Effect of continuous positive airway pressure treatment on elderly Chinese patients with obstructive sleep apnea in the prethrombotic state / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>To characterize the prethrombotic state (PTS) in elderly Chinese patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and the effect of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) ventilation on their PTS.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-one elderly patients with moderate and severe OSAHS were enrolled into the OSAHS group and underwent nCPAP treatment. Their blood samples were drawn at 600 am and 400 pm before and during nCPAP treatment, respectively, to test hemocrit, platelet aggregation (PAG), whole blood viscosity (WBV), plasma fibrinogen (fng), prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). All blood factors were also tested in a control group consisting of 32 healthy elderly Chinese with neither OSAHS nor cerebrocardiac vascular disease.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the OSAHS group there was a significantly higher hemocrit, WBV, fng, and a significantly shorter PT and APTT at 600 am compared to 400 pm before nCPAP treatment, while there was no significant difference among all blood test factors between 600 am and 400 pm on day 30 of the nCPAP treatment. In the OSAHS group, the hemocrit, WBV, PAG and plasma fng were significantly lower and the PT and APTT were significantly longer at 600 am on day 30 of the nCPAP treatment compared to 600 am before the nCPAP treatment. A significantly lower hemocrit, but a much longer PT and APTT were observed at 400 pm on day 30 of the treatment, compared with 400 pm before the treatment. No significant difference among the blood test factors was found between 600 am and 400 pm blood in the control group or between the control and OSAHS groups after 30 days of nCPAP treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In elderly Chinese OSAHS patients, PTS could be effectively eliminated by nCPAP treatment.</p>