Continuous positive airway pressure treatment for sleep apnoea: compliance increases with time in continuing users

Abstract

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) remains the best treatment for sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS). In the 1990s, many authors reported on daily compliance, but all of the studies utilised relatively short periods of follow-up that did not exceed a few years.The mean annual rate of CPAP use in patients with SAS was prospectively recorded. In the current study, the results are presented along with compliance data from patients who started CPAP between 1991 and 1998 and were still using it by the end of 2003. The cohort was chosen in order to obtain o5 yrs of follow-up for each patient. In total, there were 204 patients. For the whole group, mean¡SD compliance reached 321¡90 and 393¡84 min after 1 and 10 yrs, respectively.There was no significant change in the first 2 yrs, with a significant increase from the third year onwards. Compliance, or its evolution over time, was not correlated either to the baseline polysomnographical data (except slightly for the CPAP pressure), to the difference of these data before and under CPAP therapy, to the age of retirement or to changes in the marital status.In conclusion, very long-term compliance with continuous positive airway pressure increases by a mean of 8 min?day -1 per year of follow-up in patients with sleep apnoea syndrome.

Long-term continuous positive airway pressure compliance in females with obstructive sleep apnoea

“…As CPAP is a chronic treatment and, in most cases, must be used for life, good compliance is essential to achieve the beneficial effects of this therapy [8]. Although adherence to CPAP treatment has been extensively investigated in the literature [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], females have scarcely been represented in these series and no study to date has been specifically devoted to them. We therefore do not know how good adherence is in this population, and which variables can predict long-term compliance.…”

Compliance in sleep apnoea therapy: influence of home care support and pressure mode

“…KRIBBS et al [14] found an utilisation rate of 66% of the days monitored. A recent study by SUCENA et al [13] showed an increase in compliance in continuing users in the long term with 5.35 h after 1 yr and 6.55 h after 10 yrs. 23% of patients quit CPAP within 5 yrs, most of them during the first year.…”

“…The use/ comfort of CPAP therapy may be limited by side effects, such as mucosal irritation, mask dislodgement, mask leak or difficulty in exhaling, which may critically impair compliance [7][8][9][10][11][12] or lead to discontinuation of therapy; 23% of patients quit CPAP within 5 yrs, most of them during the first year [13]. In other publications, discontinuation rates ranged from 8 [11] to 46% [14].…”

Towards an Intelligent Monitoring System for Patients with Obstrusive Sleep Apnea

“…Many studies have statistically evaluated compliance over relatively brief periods of time (one to six months) [16] [17] [18]. Long-term studies are far fewer and rare to find [19] [20]. In these reports, the reasons for noncompliance have often been inadequately documented.…”