The effect of obstructive sleep apnea on readmissions and atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery

Sleep apnea in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: Impact on perioperative outcomes

Sleep-disordered breathing is common in patients with coronary artery disease undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with increased perioperative morbidity, arrhythmias (e.g. atrial fibrillation) and mortality. This study investigated the impact of sleep-disordered breathing on the postoperative course after coronary artery bypass grafting, including development of atrial fibrillation. This prospective single-centre cohort study included adults undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. All were screened for sleep-disordered breathing (polygraphy) and atrial fibrillation (electrocardiogram) preoperatively; those with known sleep-disordered breathing or atrial fibrillation were excluded. Endpoints included new-onset atrial fibrillation, duration of mechanical ventilation, time in the intensive care unit, and postoperative infection. Regression analysis was performed to identify associations between sleep-disordered breathing and these outcomes. A total of 508 participants were included (80% male, median age 68 years). The prevalence of any (apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 5 per hr), moderate (apnea-hypopnea index = 15-30 per hr) and severe (apnea-hypopnea index > 30 per hr) sleep-disordered breathing was 52.9%, 9.3% and 10.2%, respectively. All-cause 30-day mortality was 0.98%. After adjustment for age and sex, severe sleep-disordered breathing was associated with longer respiratory ventilation support (crude odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 5.28 [2.18-12.77]; p < 0.001) and higher postoperative infection rates (crude odds ratio 3.32 [1.45-7.58]; p < 0.005), but not new-onset atrial fibrillation or mortality. New-onset atrial fibrillation was significantly associated with postoperative infection and prolonged hospital stay. The significant associations between sleep-disordered breathing and several adverse outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting support the need for preoperative sleep-disordered breathing screening in individuals undergoing cardiac surgery.

Sex-Specific Cardiometabolic Determinants of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery

BACKGROUND

Cardiometabolic diseases increase the risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), a complication leading to higher long-term risk of major cardiovascular events (MACE). It remains unknown whether the effect of these risk factors differs according to sex. We sought to evaluate the sex-specific predictors of POAF after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

METHODS

In a prospective registry of patients undergoing isolated CABG, we compared predictors of POAF between sexes with logistic regression models. Because of high prevalence of abdominal obesity in women, > 80% having a waist circumference (WC) ≥ 88 cm, median WC values were used to define abdominal obesity (men ≥ 102 cm, women ≥ 100 cm).

RESULTS

This analysis included 6177 individuals (17% women). Mean age was 65.6 ± 8.9 years. POAF occurred in 32% of men and 28% of women (P < 0.05). Compared with men, women with POAF had similar WC; higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes; lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol; and higher glucose, triglyceride, low- density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, and C-reactive protein levels (all P < 0.05). After adjustment, age and abdominal obesity were associated with POAF in both sexes (P < 0.05). The interaction of WC with sex suggested a worse impact of WC on POAF risk among women (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48-2.62 vs in men 1.33; 95% CI, 1.17-1.50; P for interaction = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Abdominal obesity is a major predictor of POAF in both sexes, with higher risk in women. These results emphasize the need for enhanced strategies to manage abdominal obesity and its cardiometabolic consequences in the general population and the potential to develop sex-specific preventive interventions to reduce risk of POAF.

Recommended assessment and management of sleep disordered breathing in patients with atrial fibrillation, hypertension and heart failure: Taiwan Society of Cardiology/Taiwan Society of sleep Medicine/Taiwan Society of pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine joint consensus statement

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is highly prevalent and may be linked to cardiovascular disease in a bidirectional manner. The Taiwan Society of Cardiology, Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine and Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine established a task force of experts to evaluate the evidence regarding the assessment and management of SDB in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), hypertension and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The GRADE process was used to assess the evidence associated with 15 formulated questions. The task force developed recommendations and determined strength (Strong, Weak) and direction (For, Against) based on the quality of evidence, balance of benefits and harms, patient values and preferences, and resource use. The resulting 11 recommendations are intended to guide clinicians in determining which the specific patient-care strategy should be utilized by clinicians based on the needs of individual patients.

Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine Position Paper on Patient Sleep During Hospitalization

This article addresses the issue of patient sleep during hospitalization, which the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine believes merits wider consideration by health authorities than it has received to date. Adequate sleep is fundamental to health and well-being, and insufficiencies in its duration, quality, or timing have adverse effects that are acutely evident. These include cardiovascular dysfunction, impaired ventilatory function, cognitive impairment, increased pain perception, psychomotor disturbance (including increased fall risk), psychological disturbance (including anxiety and depression), metabolic dysfunction (including increased insulin resistance and catabolic propensity), and immune dysfunction and proinflammatory effects (increasing infection risk and pain generation). All these changes negatively impact health status and are counterproductive to recovery from illness and operation. Hospitalization challenges sleep in a variety of ways. These challenges include environmental factors such as noise, bright light, and overnight awakenings for observations, interventions, and transfers; physiological factors such as pain, dyspnea, bowel or urinary dysfunction, or discomfort from therapeutic devices; psychological factors such as stress and anxiety; care-related factors including medications or medication withdrawal; and preexisting sleep disorders that may not be recognized or adequately managed. Many of these challenges appear readily addressable. The key to doing so is to give sleep greater priority, with attention directed at ensuring that patients' sleep needs are recognized and met, both within the hospital and beyond. Requirements include staff education, creation of protocols to enhance the prospect of sleep needs being addressed, and improvement in hospital design to mitigate environmental disturbances. Hospitals and health care providers have a duty to provide, to the greatest extent possible, appropriate preconditions for healing. Accumulating evidence suggests that these preconditions include adequate patient sleep duration and quality. The Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine calls for systematic changes in the approach of hospital leadership and staff to this issue. Measures required include incorporation of optimization of patient sleep into the objectives of perioperative and general patient care guidelines. These steps should be complemented by further research into the impact of hospitalization on sleep, the effects of poor sleep on health outcomes after hospitalization, and assessment of interventions to improve it.

Association between obstructive sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation and delirium after cardiac surgery. Sub-analysis of DECADE trial

BACKGROUND

Atrial fibrillation and delirium are common complications after cardiac surgery. Both are associated with increased Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay, functional decline, 30-day mortality and increase in health care costs. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) induces deleterious effects in the cardiovascular and nervous systems. We hypothesized that adult patients with preoperative OSA have a higher incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation and delirium than patients without OSA, after cardiac surgery.

METHODS

Sub-analysis of the DECADE trial at Cleveland Clinic hospitals. Our exposure was OSA, defined by STOP-BANG questionnaire score higher than 5 and/or a preoperative diagnosis of OSA. The primary outcome was atrial fibrillation, defined by clinician diagnosis or documented arrhythmia. The secondary outcome was delirium assessed twice during the initial five postoperative days using the Confusion Assessment Method for ICU. We assessed the association between OSA, and atrial fibrillation and delirium using a logistic regression model adjusted for confounders using inverse probability of treatment weighting.

RESULTS

590 patients were included in the final analysis. 133 were diagnosed with OSA and 457 had no OSA. Satisfactory balance between groups for most confounders (absolute standardized difference < 0.10) was achieved after weighting. The atrial fibrillation incidence was 37% (n = 49) in the patients with OSA and 33% (n = 150) in the non-OSA patients. OSA was not associated with atrial fibrillation with an estimated odds ratio of 1.22 (95% CI: 0.75,1.99;p = 0.416). The delirium incidence was 17% (n = 22) in patients with OSA and 15% (n = 67) in the non-OSA patients. OSA was not associated with delirium with an estimated odds ratio of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.51,1.69;p = 0.800).

CONCLUSION

In adult patients having cardiac surgery, OSA is not associated with a higher incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation and delirium. These results suggest different prominent factors rather than OSA affect the incidence of these postoperative outcomes.

Impact of sleep disordered breathing on postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients who underwent cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis

Objective: An increasing number of studies suggest that sleep disordered breathing (SDB) may be associated with postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), but these studies present discrepant results. Thus, this meta-analysis aimed to synthesize the data associating SDB with POAF in patients who underwent cardiac surgery.Methods: A literature search was performed in the Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Weipu, Wanfang Data, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases before August 2022. Data were extracted, and the strength of the relationship between SDB and the risk of POAF was evaluated using odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). All statistical analysis was carried out using the Stata 12.0 software.Results: A total of 24 studies with 660,685 subjects were included in current meta-analysis. SDB was significantly associated with the risk of POAF in the patients who underwent cardiac surgery (OR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.30-1.70; p < .001). Next subgroup analysis revealed that such association may be increased in the group with medical equipment-measured SDB (OR = 2.27; 95% CI, 1.59-3.23; p < .001), prospective studies (OR = 2.17; 95% CI, 1.55-3.03; p < .001), patients without a previous history of atrial fibrillation (OR = 2.04; 95% CI, 1.47-2.82; p < .001), and patients who received a coronary artery bypass graft (OR = 2.10; 95% CI, 1.45-3.05; p < .001). No publication bias was identified.Conclusion: The results of meta-analysis support that SDB may be associated with an increased risk of POAF in patients who had undergone cardiac surgery, and these results should be confirmed in more rigorously designed studies.KEY MESSAGESPatients with SDB who underwent cardiac surgery showed increased risk of POAF.The relationship between SDB and POAF should be explained with caution with the consideration of various covariate.The effect of pre-treatment of SDB on POAF should be examined in future.

Postoperative outcomes and anesthesia type in total knee arthroplasty in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Aim: We investigated the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), 30/90-day readmission rates and perioperative complications (postoperative cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infectious or intraoperative complications) in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Materials & methods: We analyzed records of patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty using State Inpatient Databases. Demographics, comorbidities, 30/90-day readmission rates and complications were compared by OSA status. For NY, USA we analyzed outcomes by anesthetic type (regional vs general). Results: OSA patients were mostly male, had more comorbidities and had increased 30/90-day readmission rates. There were no differences in complications. In NY, there were no differences in outcomes by anesthetic type. Conclusion: OSA was associated with increased 30/90-day readmission rates. Within NY, anesthetic type was not associated with any outcomes.

Validation of the STOP-Bang questionnaire as a preoperative screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder that is highly associated with postoperative complications. The STOP-Bang questionnaire is a simple screening tool for OSA. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the validity of the STOP-Bang questionnaire for screening OSA in the surgical population cohort.

METHODS

A systematic search of the following databases was performed from 2008 to May 2021: MEDLINE, Medline-in-process, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PsycINFO, Journals @ Ovid, Web of Science, Scopus, and CINAHL. Continued literature surveillance was performed through October 2021.

RESULTS

The systematic search identified 4641 articles, from which 10 studies with 3247 surgical participants were included in the final analysis. The mean age was 57.3 ± 15.2 years, and the mean BMI was 32.5 ± 10.1 kg/m² with 47.4% male. The prevalence of all, moderate-to-severe, and severe OSA were 65.2, 37.7, and 17.0%, respectively. The pooled sensitivity of the STOP-Bang questionnaire for all, moderate-to-severe, and severe OSA was 85, 88, and 90%, and the pooled specificities were 47, 29, and 27%, respectively. The area under the curve for all, moderate-to-severe, and severe OSA was 0.84, 0.67, and 0.63.

CONCLUSIONS

In the preoperative setting, the STOP-Bang questionnaire is a valid screening tool to detect OSA in patients undergoing surgery, with a high sensitivity and a high discriminative power to reasonably exclude severe OSA with a negative predictive value of 93.2%.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration  CRD42021260451 .

Prehabilitation of Cardiac Surgical Patients, Part 1: Anemia, Diabetes Mellitus, Obesity, Sleep Apnea, and Cardiac Rehabilitation

The concept of "prehabilitation" consists of screening for and identification of pre-existing disorders followed by medical optimization. This is performed for many types of surgery, but may have profound impacts on outcomes particularly in cardiac surgery given the multiple comorbidities typically carried by these patients. Components of prehabilitation include direct medical intervention by preoperative specialists as well as significant care coordination and shared decision making. In this two-part review, the authors describe existing evidence to support the optimization of various preoperative problems and present a few institutional protocols utilized by our center for cardiac presurgical care. This first installment will focus on the management of anemia, obesity, sleep apnea, diabetes, and cardiac rehabilitation prior to surgery. The second will focus on frailty, malnutrition, respiratory disease, alcohol and smoking cessation, and depression.

Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Adults with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in the RICCADSA Cohort

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) occurs in 20−50% of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is also common in adults with CAD, and may contribute to POAF as well to the reoccurrence of AF in patients at long-term. In the current secondary analysis of the Randomized Intervention with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in Coronary Artery Disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (RICCADSA) trial (Trial Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; No: NCT 00519597), we included 147 patients with CABG, who underwent a home sleep apnea testing, in average 73 ± 30 days after the surgical intervention. POAF was defined as a new-onset AF occurring within the 30 days following the CABG. POAF was observed among 48 (32.7%) patients, occurring within the first week among 45 of those cases. The distribution of the apnea-hypopnea-index (AHI) categories < 5.0 events/h (no-OSA); 5.0−14.9 events/h (mild OSA); 15.0−29.9 events/h (moderate OSA); and ≥30 events/h (severe OSA), was 4.2%, 14.6%, 35.4%, and 45.8%, in the POAF group, and 16.2%, 17.2%, 39.4%, and 27.3%, respectively, in the no-POAF group. In a multivariate logistic regression model, there was a significant risk increase for POAF across the AHI categories, with the highest odds ratio (OR) for severe OSA (OR 6.82, 95% confidence interval 1.31−35.50; p = 0.023) vs. no-OSA, independent of age, sex, and body-mass-index. In the entire cohort, 90% were on β-blockers according to the clinical routines, they all had sinus rhythm on the electrocardiogram at baseline before the study start, and 28 out of 40 patients with moderate to severe OSA (70%) were allocated to CPAP. During a median follow-up period of 67 months, two patients (none with POAF) were hospitalized due to AF. To conclude, severe OSA was significantly associated with POAF in patients with CAD undergoing CABG. However, none of those individuals had an AF-reoccurrence at long term, and whether CPAP should be considered as an add-on treatment to β-blockers in secondary prevention models for OSA patients presenting POAF after CABG requires further studies in larger cohorts.

Causal Effect of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Atrial Fibrillation: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Background

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has shown to be associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation in observational studies. Whether this association reflect causal effect is still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the causal effect of OSA on atrial fibrillation.

Methods and Results

We used a 2‐sample Mendelian randomization (MR) method to evaluate the causal effect of OSA on atrial fibrillation. Summary data on genetic variant‐OSA association were obtained from a recently published genome‐wide association studies with up to 217 955 individuals and data on variant‐atrial fibrillation association from another genome‐wide association study with up to 1 030 836 individuals. Effect estimates were evaluated using inverse‐variance weighted method. Other MR analyses, including penalized inverse‐variance weighted, penalized robust inverse‐variance weighted, MR‐Egger, simple median, weighted median, weighted mode‐based estimate and Mendelian Randomization Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier methods were performed in sensitivity analyses. The MR analyses in both the fixed‐effect and random‐effect inverse‐variance weighted models showed that genetically predicted OSA was associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (odds ratio [OR], 1.21; 95% CI, 1.12–1.31, P<0.001; OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.11–1.32, P<0.001) using 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms as the instruments. MR‐Egger indicated no evidence of genetic pleiotropy (intercept, −0.014; 95% CI, −0.033 to 0.005, P=0.14). Results were robust using other MR methods in sensitivity analyses.

Conclusions

This MR analysis found that genetically predicted OSA had causal effect on an increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

Post-operative outcomes and anesthesia type in total hip arthroplasty in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: A retrospective analysis of the State Inpatient Databases

STUDY OBJECTIVES

To investigate postoperative outcomes following total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). To evaluate trends in the use of regional anesthesia (RA) versus general anesthesia (GA) following the publication of practical guidelines. To compare postoperative outcomes according to anesthesia type.

DESIGN

Retrospective analysis.

SETTING

Operating room.

PATIENTS

349,008 patients who underwent elective THA in Florida, New York, Maryland, and Kentucky between 2007 and 2014 were extracted from the State Inpatient Databases (SID), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, including 18,063 patients with OSA (5.2%).

INTERVENTIONS

No intervention.

MEASUREMENTS

The effect of OSA on postoperative outcomes was investigated using bivariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression models. Outcomes studied included in-hospital mortality, postoperative complications, length of stay (LOS), and post-discharge readmissions. In a population from New York only, (n = 105,838 with 5306 patients with OSA [5.0%]), we investigated the outcomes in the OSA population according to the anesthesia type. Analysis was performed overall and for each individual year.

MAIN RESULTS

The OSA prevalence increased from 1.7% in 2007 to 7.1% in 2014. In multivariable analysis, there was no effect of OSA on in-hospital mortality (aOR:0.57; 0.31-1.04). Postoperative complications, LOS, and readmission rates were all higher in patients with OSA. In patients with OSA receiving GA than those receiving RA, we found a higher rate of complications overall and pulmonary complications specifically in men and higher rate of 90-day readmission in women. Over the study period, the rate of GA use in patients with OSA increased.

CONCLUSIONS

The OSA prevalence in patients undergoing THA increased fourfold over the study period. OSA was associated with increased overall postoperative complications, LOS, and readmission, but not with in-hospital mortality. Despite the publication of guidelines favoring RA over GA, the use of GA increased over the study period.

Obstructive sleep apnea-induced multi-organ dysfunction after elective coronary artery bypass surgery in coronary heart disease patients

Background

The aim of this study was to explore the underlying impact of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on postoperative parameters of multi-organ function among coronary heart disease (CHD) patients following elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods

Electronic literature databases were searched manually and automatically for relevant English articles. All of the included articles focused on a comparison of the incidence of postoperative parameters of multi-organ function in CHD patients undergoing elective CABG with and without OSA. Studies were excluded if they met any one of the following criteria: (I) duplicate publication; (II) ongoing or unpublished studies; (III) only published as abstracts or conference proceedings; and (IV) less than 30 patients in the patient cohort.

Results

A total of 13 articles met our inclusion criteria. The current study demonstrated OSA significantly increased the incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) in CHD patients undergoing elective CABG compared with the controls [odds risk (OR), 1.97; 95% CI, 1.50 to 2.59, P<0.0001]. In addition, OSA was associated with an increased risk of new revascularization in CHD patients undergoing elective CABG (OR, 9.47; 95% CI, 2.69 to 33.33, P<0.0001). Moreover, reintubation and tracheostomy in the OSA group was increased 243% (OR, 3.43; 95% CI, 1.35 to 8.71; P=0.009) and 372% (OR, 4.72; 95% CI, 1.23 to 18.13; P=0.024), respectively, compared with the control group. Besides, we also confirmed OSA significantly increased the acute kidney injury (AKI) incidence by 124% (OR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.07 to 4.72; P<0.0001).

Conclusions

OSA may contribute to postoperative multi-organ dysfunction among CHD patients undergoing elective CABG by increasing the incidence of MACCEs, especially new revascularization, as well as respiratory, and renal complications.

The Converging Pathologies of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Atrial Arrhythmias

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly prevalent in the United States (US). Along with epidemic rates of obesity, the rate of OSA cases is also on the rise. OSA is associated with multiple chronic health conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, stroke, myocardial ischemia, and heart rhythm disturbances. OSA is commonly treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Several reports indicate that effective treatment of OSA can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including cardiac arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation (AF). CPAP therapy helps to maintain sinus rhythm after interventions such as electrical cardioversion and catheter ablation in patients with AF. However, more data is required to establish a relationship between OSA and other atrial arrhythmias as well to evaluate the effect of CPAP. This review will compile the latest evidence on the pathophysiology, management, and treatment of atrial arrhythmias associated with OSA.

A prospective five-year cohort study of undiagnosed sleep apnea in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery

BACKGROUND

We aimed to study prospectively the nature and effect of sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery over five years of follow-up.

METHODS

Patients undergoing CABG surgery (N.=145) were assessed longitudinally (baseline, 1 year, and 5 years post-surgery) using the 'STOP-BANG' screen of sleep apnea risk. Additionally, all patients had a preoperative multiple-channel sleep-study, providing acceptable data for an obstructive and central apnea, and desaturation index in 97 patients.

RESULTS

Preoperatively, over half (63%) of patients obtained an apnea-hypopnea index score (combining apnea types) in the moderate-severe range for SAHS, and STOP-BANG threshold score (>3/8) was reached by most (95%) patients. Despite some improvement in 'STOP symptoms' at 1-year follow-up, most patients (98%) remained at risk of SAHS at 5 years post-surgery. There was an underlying and chronic relationship between STOP-BANG score and cardiac symptoms at both baseline and 5-year follow-up. Additionally, SAHS variables were associated with greater incidence of acute postoperative events, and generally with increased length of stay on the intensive care unit.

CONCLUSIONS

We confirm that SAHS is common in CABG-surgery patients, presenting additional clinical challenges and cost implications. The underlying pathophysiology is complex, including upper airway obstruction and cardiorespiratory changes of heart failure. In patients presenting for CABG-surgery, we show chronic susceptibility to SAHS, likely associated with traditional risk factors e.g. obesity but perhaps also with gradual decline in heart function itself. Superimposed on this, there is potential for exacerbated risk of morbidity at the time of CABG surgery itself.

Postoperative Outcomes of Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

BACKGROUND

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with increased risk of postoperative complications in noncardiac surgery, with limited literature on cardiac surgical patients. Perioperative outcomes of patients with OSA were compared with outcomes of those without OSA undergoing cardiac surgery.

METHODS

This was a retrospective single-center cohort study of adults who underwent cardiac surgery from January 2010 to April 2017. Outcomes of patients with OSA were compared with those without OSA, including length of stay, readmissions, hospital death, and short-term outcomes.

RESULTS

OSA was present in 2636 of 8612 patients (30.6%) identified during the study period with OSA. Patients with OSA had a longer median length of stay (6 vs 5 days, P < .001), longer incidence of prolonged (>7 days) length of stay (26.3% vs 23.0%, P < .001), and were less likely to be discharged to home (78.2% vs 84.4%, P < .001). OSA patients also had a higher 30-day readmission rate (14.7% vs 10.4%, P < .001). Acute kidney injury was more common in OSA patients (25.2% vs 19.9%, P < .001). Our multivariable model found postoperative atrial fibrillation was associated with older age and not OSA status (age <50 years compared with >75 years; odds ratio, 4.10; 95% confidence interval, 3.39-4.96).

CONCLUSIONS

OSA patients had a longer mean length of stay, were more likely to have a prolonged length of stay, more likely to be discharged to a location other than home, and had a higher 30-day readmission rate. This suggests higher resource utilization is required to care for OSA patients after cardiac surgery.