Effectiveness of Individualized Nursing in Perioperative Management of Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at increased risk of perioperative complications, such as hypoxemia, respiratory depression, and airway obstruction. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of individualized nursing in the perioperative management of patients with OSA.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 107 patients with OSA undergoing elective surgery between January 2023 and January 2025, who were allocated to a conventional group (n = 55) or an individualized group (n = 52) according to the nursing approach. Perioperative respiratory safety (postanesthesia care unit [PACU], minimum oxygen saturation [SpO2], Aldrete score, and respiratory adverse events within 48 h), analgesia and functional recovery (visual analog scale [VAS] scores, opioid consumption, time to first ambulation), postoperative Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) scores, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) adherence, Short Form-36 (SF-36) quality of life, complications, ICU transfer, length of stay, and hospitalization costs were compared between groups.

RESULTS

Compared with the conventional group, the individualized nursing group showed significantly higher PACU minimum SpO2 (p = 0.001) and Aldrete scores (p < 0.001), a lower incidence of postoperative respiratory adverse events within 48 h (p < 0.05), reduced 24-h and 48-h VAS scores and opioid consumption (p < 0.05), and earlier ambulation (p < 0.001). During the 6-month follow-up, the individualized group demonstrated lower ESS scores, improved CPAP adherence, and greater improvements across all SF-36 domains (all p < 0.001), as well as reduced overall complications, ICU transfer rates, length of hospital stay, and hospitalization costs (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Individualized nursing is associated with improved perioperative respiratory safety and recovery quality, better long-term sleep outcomes and quality of life, and reduced complications and healthcare resource use in patients with OSA.