Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Post Covid 19: Role of the Upper Airway Microbiome

November 10, 2021 updated by: Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing coronavirus disease, Covid-19, has spread rapidly across the globe since its emergence in January 2020. As of January 2021, there are 87.6 million confirmed cases worldwide, with 1.9milion deaths. In conjunction with this high disease incidence, there have also been reports of Covid-19 related sleep disordered breathing, with up 18% in a Chinese study and 57% in an Italian study of individuals with Covid-19 reporting sleep disturbance.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a common, chronic condition due to partial or complete upper airway collapse during sleep. OSA is more common in males & obese individuals, both of which are more adversely affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, inflammation of the upper airway, or nasal passages leading to congestion could lead to a compromised upper airway during sleep and subsequently, obstructive sleep apnea.

We believe that's SARS -CoV-2 infection, and subsequent Covid-19 will lead to an altered microbiome in the upper airway. This is turn will lead to worsening nasal inflammation and congestion, which could predispose individual with previous Covid-19 disease to OSA.

Additionally, OSA is treated with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) a machine which delivers pressurized air into the upper airway via a face mask. This keeps the upper airway open during sleep. When CPAP is well tolerated by individuals, it works well to reduce the symptoms of OSA. Unfortunately, many patients find it difficult to tolerate CPAP. One reason often reported for poor tolerance is nasal congestion. We believe that an altered upper airway microbiome, due to previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, will affect treatment adherence to CPAP therapy. Secondly, we will investigate if treatment with CPAP therapy causes any change in the upper airway microbiome.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

50

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants will be selected from the Sleep Clinic and Post-Covid Clinic in Beaumont Hospital. Participants with snoring and daytime somnolence requiring sleep assessment as part of routine clinical care will be selected.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Symptoms of sleepiness, fatigue, loud snoring

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Gross skeletal alterations affecting the upper airway (eg.micrognathia)
  2. Unstable chronic medical conditions known to affect OSA (CHF, stroke) 3.
  3. Pregnancy or intent to become pregnant within the period of the protocol
  4. Inability to sign informed consent form
  5. Habitual snorer or previous diagnosis of OSA.
  6. Less than 18 years of age.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
SARS-CoV2 OSA
Patients will be recruited from both Post-COVID19 and Sleep Clinics run through Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont, Dublin, Ireland. This will allow for the recruitment of patients with and without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  • Nasal Lavage: The nasal lavage will be performed using a spray technique. Using a disposable metered-dose inhaler (100 µl per spray), room temperature saline will be sprayed in one nostril while the other nostril is closed. After 5 sprays, the subject will gently exhale through the lavaged nostril and the fluid will be collected in a specimen cup. The procedure will be repeated a minimum of 8 times and a maximum of 15 times in each nostril. After collection, the sample will be placed on ice and processed within 2 hours.
  • Oral Rinse: Oral samples will be collected using a standardized procedure in accordance with the Manual of Procedures for Human Microbiome Project.Study participants will rinse their mouth (swish/gargle) with 15 mL sterile normal saline for 1 min, and will expectorate the contents of the mouth into a 50 mL centrifuge tube. Sample should be kept cold on ice until processing.
Other Names:
  • Home Sleep Study
  • Positive Airway Pressure if diagnosed with Sleep Apnea
Non-SARS-CoV2 OSA
Patients will be recruited from both Post-COVID19 and Sleep Clinics run through Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont, Dublin, Ireland. This will allow for the recruitment of patients with and without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  • Nasal Lavage: The nasal lavage will be performed using a spray technique. Using a disposable metered-dose inhaler (100 µl per spray), room temperature saline will be sprayed in one nostril while the other nostril is closed. After 5 sprays, the subject will gently exhale through the lavaged nostril and the fluid will be collected in a specimen cup. The procedure will be repeated a minimum of 8 times and a maximum of 15 times in each nostril. After collection, the sample will be placed on ice and processed within 2 hours.
  • Oral Rinse: Oral samples will be collected using a standardized procedure in accordance with the Manual of Procedures for Human Microbiome Project.Study participants will rinse their mouth (swish/gargle) with 15 mL sterile normal saline for 1 min, and will expectorate the contents of the mouth into a 50 mL centrifuge tube. Sample should be kept cold on ice until processing.
Other Names:
  • Home Sleep Study
  • Positive Airway Pressure if diagnosed with Sleep Apnea

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Examine the incidence of post SARS-CoV-2 infection obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and its relationships with the upper airway/nasal microenvironment
Time Frame: 1 year
1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Determine the relationship between post- SARS-CoV-2 Infection OSA, Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) treatment adherence and change in the upper airway/nasal microenvironment.
Time Frame: 1 year
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ANTICIPATED)

November 22, 2021

Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED)

January 1, 2023

Study Completion (ANTICIPATED)

January 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 10, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 10, 2021

First Posted (ACTUAL)

November 11, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

November 11, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 10, 2021

Last Verified

November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.