Introduction:Hypoxemia during OSAS leads to systemic inflammation that may contribute to cardiovascular comorbidities. The objective of our work was to study the relationship between polygraph parameters of nocturnal desaturation and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Methods:This was a retrospective study including 291 patients followed for OSAS at the military hospital of Tunis.

Results:The mean age of the patients was 51.08 ± 13.78 years with a sex ratio of 0.93. OSAS was mild, moderate and severe in 25.9%, 25.5% and 48.6% of cases respectively. Comorbidities were present in 49% of cases: hypertension (46.6%), diabetes (21.5%), dyslipidemia (25.1%), pathologies of the ENT sphere (18.3%), cardiac arrhythmia (16 .3%). The mean CRP was 3.47 ± 0.35 mg/L. The average apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) was 37.45/h. The average desaturation index (IDO) and average saturation were 32.7/h and 88.2%, respectively. CRP was associated with AHI (p=0.031) and IDO (p=0.04). No correlation found between CRP and cardiovascular comorbidities. Nevertheless, patients with severe OSAS had more cardiovascular comorbidities (p=0.03).

Conclusion:Our study showed that nocturnal desaturation was associated with systemic inflammation, further studies on this topic should be considered.