Compliance to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea - long-term assessment.

Abstract

IntroductionTo assess CPAP acquirement, compliance, and dropout rates among OSA patients three years after the prescription.Material and MethodsWe assessed CPAP acquirement (Acq), compliance (Comp), and dropout (Dout) through a telephone survey. We interviewed 156 patients; ESS: 9.9±5.7, AHI>15ev/hour in 96.4%. 92 patients had accessed CPAP therapy (58.9%) and 67 (72.8%) were still using it. Dropout was reported by 25 (27.2%). The Comp group was older (p<0.01), had more men (p<0.001), higher ESS scores (p<0.03) and a higher level of specialist follow-up (p<0.001). Multivariate analysis adjusted showed; follow-up by experts (OR: 4.39; p<0.05) and ESS>10 (OR: 1.25; p<0.05) increased CPAP compliance.ConclusionThere is a high number of patients without CPAP therapy acquirement. Long-term compliance was found in ¾ of the study population in symptomatic patients followed up by specialists. Finally, 43% had effective treatment.