Effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment on Hemograms of Patients with Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the Lack of Comorbidities

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of CPAP treatment on hemograms of patients with severe OSA in the lack of comorbidities which might affect the real values of hematological parameters. This retrospective cohort study patients selected from those whose polysomnography reports were compatible with severe OSAS and who underwent PAP titration in our sleep medicine department. 49 patients were enrolled to the study. The baseline hemograms of the participants were collected from one of the patients' visits before they started to use CPAP devices. The control hemograms were evaluated from one of the control visits in the first six months of treatment. We examined the red cell distribution width (RDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), hemotocrit (Hct) and platelet (Plt) count from the hemograms. The mean age was 58.2 years ± 11.3 years, 38.8% were female and 61.2% were male. 69.4% were non-smokers and 30.6% were ex-smokers. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 31.6 ± 5.8 while the mean apnea hypopnea index (AHI) was 50.2 ± 29. The mean duration of CPAP therapy was 4.8 months ± 3.3 months. The mean RDW, MPV, Hct and Plt count values before CPAP treatment were in normal ranges of laboratory tests. All of the values reduced after CPAP therapy but only the decrease in MPV was statistically significant. The reduced values supported that CPAP treatment helped to control hypercoagulability and prevented from cardiovascular disorders in OSAS. Hemogram may be a cheap and easily found laboratory test for monitoring the response to CPAP therapy.