Compliance is often the primary obstacle to CPAP treatment efficacy.
In the early 1990s, many researchers agreed that treatment compliance rates were around 46%.1
The good news from more recent research is that, although patient compliance remains an ongoing challenge, modern technology and practices present a more optimistic picture.
Solutions
Most researchers agree that the best approach to improving compliance is multi-faceted:
- Comfortable, convenient, and reliable equipment
- Education supplied by the healthcare team - a population-based CPAP program consisting of consistent follow-up, "troubleshooting," and regular feedback to both patients and physicians. CPAP compliance rates of >85% over 6 months2
- Active involvement of patient in their own treatment
- Support network available for patient.
If appropriate support and education are provided, there are two interventions that may improve compliance:
- Humidification - "Our results demonstrate that heated humidification significantly improves the nCPAP daily rate of use and that its need may be predicted."3
- AutoSet® therapy - “We conclude that among patients requiring higher CPAP (10 cm H2O or more) there are improvements in CPAP use, OSAHS symptoms, and quality of life domains when using auto-titrating (AutoSet) as opposed to fixed pressure CPAP."4