Nasal airway positive pressure in patients with occlusive sleep apnea. Methods and feasibility.
Nasal airway positive pressure (NAPP) effectively eliminates obstructive sleep apnea. This report describes construction and evaluation of a convenient NAPP apparatus used successfully in 15 patients with obstructive sleep apnea. An impeller blower with high flow, low pressure characteristics delivers room air to a flow divider and then to an injector attached to a custom-fitted nose mask. Of the total naris pressure supplied by the system, a large fraction derives from the kinetic energy of the air stream delivered to the naris by the injectors. This, together with the high flow rate of the system, promotes a constant naris pressure. Naris pressure is determined by the size of the flow divider and the aperture of the exhaust port(s) of the injector. A series of 10 flow divider-injector combinations are described that provide a variety of naris pressures between 2.5 and 13.6 cm H2O. Fourteen of 15 patients found the NAPP apparatus acceptable and effective. No maintenance or repair appears to be required.
D000328:Adult; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008397:Masks; D008875:Middle Aged; D009666:Nose; D011175:Positive-Pressure Respiration / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000628:therapy*