Covid-19 and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: The Theatricals and Quality-of-Life Impact

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV2 has reached pandemic proportions. The fear of Covid-19 has deterred many to abandon efforts for seeking timely medical help. In this setting, Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)-like covid/non-covid cohorts have presented. Atypical pathologies can present like OSA and take the clinician unawares. With this series of misfits suffering silently, it would be unwise to underestimate its impact on quality-of-life (QOL). To determine the effect on quality-of-life by pathologies mimicking OSA and assess Covid-19 as a cause for delayed presentation. This was a prospective cross-sectional study. 127(N). Recent onset of symptoms of OSA. Study duration March 2020 to September 2021. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) screening done. Study criteria defined. Sleep parameters calculated. Primary surgical intervention given. Non-responders were put on CPAP therapy. QOL assessment done with sf-36 and SAQLI. Fear of Covid-19 scale (FCV-19S) quantified to study cause for temporal delay. Correlations computed. Level of Evidence-Level 3. 97 candidates completed study. Demographic and anthropometric details noted. Mean range was 43.85 +/- 11.39 years. Male predominance. Overall AHI-19.73 +/- 8.72. Moderate impact on QOL by sf-36/SAQLI. 78n Primary surgical candidates fared well. Polysomnography (PSG) and Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration/trial characteristics for 19n available. Statistically significant improvement in QOL after treatment completion. Correlations were meaningful. Body Mass Index (BMI) as a single factor was not influential on OSA-mimickers. Fear of Covid-19 significantly impacted emergency medical aid acquisition. OSA mimicking atypical airway pathologies may need emergent treatment not only from a surgical point-of-view but also from the QOL of the patient. On the contrary, these also unmask sub-clinical OSA, especially in patients with low/normal BMI. This category of recent onset OSA, if fortunately picked up at the earliest possible presentation, may hopefully not go through the significant QOL impact suffered by chronic OSA candidates.