Group education sessions and compliance with nasal CPAP therapy.
OBJECTIVE
To determine an effective means of improving compliance with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).


METHODS
Retrospective chart review.


METHODS
An outpatient clinic at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.


METHODS
Seventy-three patients with OSA.


METHODS
Hour meters on CPAP machines provided documentation of nightly machine use. A 2-h group CPAP clinic, scheduled every 6 months, provided education, support, symptom treatment, and equipment monitoring for all CPAP patients.


RESULTS
Twenty-five patients had hour meter readings taken at their first CPAP clinic. In these patients, nightly CPAP use increased from 5.2 +/- 0.6 to 6.3 +/- 0.6 h per night after attendance at one CPAP clinic (p < 0.05). CPAP use increased from 5.2 +/- 0.5 before CPAP clinic to 6.3 +/- 0.6 h per night after attendance at all subsequent CPAP clinics for 34 patients (p < 0.05), an improvement that was sustained over 605 +/- 34 days. Twenty-nine percent of patients increased nightly CPAP use by at least 2 h, while only 6% decreased by > or = 2 h (p < 0.025). Patients receiving supplemental oxygen had higher CPAP use prior to CPAP clinic compared to patients not receiving oxygen (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Attendance in a group clinic designed to encourage patient compliance with CPAP therapy provided a simple and effective means of improving treatment of OSA.
Likar
L L
LL
Department of Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI, USA.
Panciera
T M
TM
Erickson
A D
AD
Rounds
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D004282:Documentation; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D009666:Nose; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011175:Positive-Pressure Respiration / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000628:therapy*; D012944:Social Support