Sarcouncil Journal of Internal Medicine and Public Health

Abstract: Background: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is slowly being identified as a risk factor on its own in cardiovascular conditions. Nonetheless, treatment of cardiovascular comorbidities related to OSAS usually remains disjointed between internal medicine and otorhinolaryngology. The present study compares the rates of cardiovascular comorbidities among the groups of OSAS severity. The results of a structured collaborative ENT-Internal Medicine care model, as well as patients, were subjected to full ENT examination (including Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy), cardiovascular examination (echocardiography, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, cardiac biomarkers), and treated in a weekly multidisciplinary team conference. The evaluation was done at 6 months. There were moderate to strong correlations between all cardiovascular parameters and AHI (r = 0.28-0.52). The collaborative strategy resulted in a 62 percent mean AHI decrease, 9.8 mmHg systolic BP decrease, almost doubling BP control rates (39.5 percent to 68.3 percent), and CPAP observance of 72.4 percent at 6 months. Conclusions: Multisystem nature OSAS can be successfully treated in a collaborative ENT-Internal Medicine care model, and treatment adherence and cardiovascular outcomes can be improved in comparison with the historical single-specialty standards. The findings can be used to justify the adoption of integrated care paths when working with OSAS patients with cardiovascular comorbidities.