Efficacy of Auto-PAP Titration in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Single-center Experience

Abstract

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-associated breathing disorder, which left untreated can cause severe morbidities or even mortality. The recommended treatment strategy for moderate-to-severe OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The optimal pressure required for OSA can be measured by either manual CPAP titration or auto-CPAP titration study. Objective: To assess the efficacy of auto-PAP titration for OSA patients. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on Pulmonary Medicine Sleep Lab at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi. Fifty patients who have undergone full-night polysomnography and followed with auto-PAP titration are included in the study. The research was approved by the institutional ethics committee. Results: In the study cohort, 50% showed optimal titration, 40% good titration, 10% adequate titration and none in unacceptable category. The results showed that auto-PAP usage has good result in moderate-to-severe OSA. Conclusion: Unattended auto-PAP titration seems to be highly effective modality which can be considered as an alternative to attended CPAP titration, thus reducing labor intensiveness and cost.