Self-reported continuous positive airway pressure device compliance of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome

Introduction: Patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) are often prescribed the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices to overcome obstruction during sleep. We aimed at assessing the adherence rates to CPAP therapy in two clinical subtypes of OSAS. Patients and Methods: Patients diagnosed with positional or rapid eye movement related OSAS using polysomnography were included. Patients were contacted by telephone calls to collect data. Inclusion criteria were age >18 years, a total apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) >5, and a physician recommendation to initiate therapy with a CPAP device. Patients were excluded if they had known neurological disorders, were unwilling to answer all questions and had no recommendation to use CPAP therapy. Results: A total of 286 patients, 99 females (34.6%) and 187 males (65.4%), with a mean age of 56.5 +/- 11.3 years were included. There were 134 (46.9%) CPAP users and 152 (53.1%) CPAP nonusers. Reasons for not using the CPAP device included unwillingness to use the device (n = 73, 48%), reduced patient comfort due to noise, hose, or air pressure (n = 31, 20.3%), reimbursement problems (n = 38, 25%), and reasons such as recovery or operation (n = 10, 6.5%). Age, duration of use/months, number of nights per week during which the device was used and the mean number of hours per night were not significantly different between OSAS types (P > 0.05), while the mean AHI and body mass index were significantly different between OSAS types (P < 0.05). Conclusion: A significant proportion of OSAS patients do not use CPAP devices due to various reasons. Adherence to CPAP therapy was not significantly different between groups.