2.5 hours of patient/therapist contact time increases CPAP use

Although continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is often used as therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), patient compliance with CPAP remains an issue.

However, new research presented at CHEST 2012, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, shows that patients who meet with a respiratory therapist for a total of 2.5 hours within 30 days of initiating CPAP had significant compliance after 1 month of therapy.

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente retrospectively reviewed the charts of 39 patients with OSA who were treated with CPAP and on a portable compliance-monitoring device.

Patient/therapist contact time included a total of three sessions, each with one-on-one contact time, totaling 150 min. On day 30, a 30-min CPAP compliance evaluation review was conducted, and data was downloaded from patients' CPAP equipment.

Results showed a 75% CPAP compliance rate after 30 days.