Undiagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Acute COVID-19 Infection—A Case Series

Abstract

A recently published study on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) suggested that there might be an association between certain risk factors and comorbidities associated with OSA, which are also associated with poor COVID-19 outcomes. However, it is unclear whether undiagnosed OSA correlates with COVID-19 severity in a South Korean population. We identified 7 patients who presented with nocturnal hypoxemia during hospitalization due to COVID-19. All patients underwent polysomnography 5–9 weeks after the infection. We retrospectively collected the patients’ baseline characteristics, hospital admission data, and polysomnography findings. Of the 7 patients, all were diagnosed with OSA after COVID-19 infection. Their mean (±SD) age was 45.4±16.3 years, 57.1% were men, and their mean (±SD) body mass index was 33.4±6.0 kg/m². Six patients presented with COVID-19-related pneumonia on chest X-rays, 3 of whom were admitted to the intensive care unit during the acute phase. The overnight polysomnography showed a mean AHI of 59.0±38.5/h and an oxygen desaturation index of 57.6±39.7/h. Undiagnosed OSA is a prevalent condition associated with moderate to severe COVID-19 infection. The study patients with sleep apnea and COVID-19 had obesity and severe oxygen desaturation but did not complain of daytime sleepiness.