Abstract
Background and Aim: Compliance is the adherence of the patient to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy after his/her decision to start treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the compliance to CPAP therapy in a large patient population and the results were presented after 5 years of follow-up period in order to emphasize long-term compliance with CPAP treatment in the light of the literature. Materials and Methods: Patients who could not afford CPAP device or attend regular controls were excluded from the study and the remaining 174 patients were included in the study. At the end of 5 years, the patients were called back. A total of 110 patients met the eligibility criteria for the study110 patients (79 males, 31 females) whose charts were reviewed. Results: Fifty of 110 study participants (45.5%) regularly used CPAP device for ≥4 hours and the remaining 60 (54.5%) patients did not use CPAP device regularly. At the end of 5 years, we found that 36.4% of the patients used the device 4 hours a night. AHI severity does not affect adherence to the device and compliance rates (2=2.743; p=0.254). Conclusion: The patients compliance rates with CPAP device was found concord with the literature. This study conveys greater importance than other relevant studies in the literature in that it encompasses a larger patient population followed up for a longer period.
Highlights
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is an important health problem characterized by cessation of airflow within the upper respiratory tract, oxygen desaturation and interruption of sleep and may be associated with significant morbidity and mortality [1,2]
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy which is based on the principle of maintaining patency of upper respiratory tract by external application of positive pressure on the upper respiratory tract during sleep is a “gold standard” treatment modality for respiratory system disorders occurring during sleep especially in patients with severe OSAS [3,4]
When we review the studies on compliance to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, based on the self-reports of the patients, compliance rates range between 65 and 90%, while control systems have revealed that 29-83 % of the patients are using their CPAP devices [8]
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is an important health problem characterized by cessation of airflow within the upper respiratory tract, oxygen desaturation and interruption of sleep and may be associated with significant morbidity and mortality [1,2]. The patient benefits from the treatment as long as he/she uses the device [5]. On this issue according to generally accepted principle, total application time of the device should last more than 70% of the duration of the patient’s treatment and at least 4 hours a night [6]. Compliance is the adherence of the patient to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy after his/her decision to start treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the compliance to CPAP therapy in a large patient population and the results were presented after 5 years of follow-up period in order to emphasize long-term compliance with CPAP treatment in the light of the literature.
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