CPAP Use in Moderate Sleep Apnea
Introduction to CPAP Benefits
- The American Thoracic Society establishes that partial CPAP use is better than no use, with the goal of achieving full-time use during sleep 1, 2, 3
Criteria for Adherence and Clinical Benefit
- The American Thoracic Society considers patients adherent when they use CPAP regularly for more than 4 hours/night, or use CPAP for more than 2 hours/night and demonstrate improvement in daytime sleepiness, quality of life, or other health complications associated with sleep apnea 1, 2, 3
Relevant Clinical Outcomes
- The benefits of CPAP that can be achieved even with partial use include reduction of subjective and objective daytime sleepiness, improvement in symptoms related to sleep apnea, reduction of blood pressure, improvement in quality of life, improvement in cognitive function, and reduction of cardiovascular outcomes 1, 2, 3
Strategy to Optimize Adherence
- To maximize the benefits of partial CPAP use, encourage patients to use CPAP whenever they sleep, provide educational, behavioral, and support interventions to improve adherence, evaluate outcomes early after starting CPAP therapy, and address intolerance to CPAP early 1, 2, 3
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Do not discard treatment if the patient cannot use CPAP every night, as partial use still provides significant clinical benefits, and do not wait 30-90 days to assess problems, as early intervention improves long-term adherence 1, 2, 3