GROUP EDUCATION SESSIONS AND COMPLIANCE WITH NASAL CPAP THERAPY

Study objectives: To determine an effective means of improving complia nce with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for obstruct ive sleep apnea (OSA), Design: Retrospective chart review, Setting: An outpatient clinic at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Patients: Sev enty-three patients with OSA. Interventions: Hour meters on CPAP machi nes provided documentation of nightly machine use, A 2-h group CPAP cl inic, scheduled every 6 months, provided education, support, symptom t reatment, and equipment monitoring for all CPAP patients, Results: Twe nty-five patients had hour meter readings taken at their first CPAP cl inic, In these patients, nightly CPAP use increased from 5.2 +/- 0.6 t o 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 p atients (p<0.05), an improvement that was sustained over 605 +/- 34 da ys. Twenty-nine percent of patients increased nightly CPAP use by at l east 2 h, while only 6% decreased by greater than or equal to 2 h (p<0 .025). Patients receiving supplemental oxygen had higher CPAP use prio r to CPAP clinic compared to patients not receiving oxygen (p<0.05). C onclusions: Attendance in a group clinic designed to encourage patient compliance with CPAP therapy provided a simple and effective means of improving treatment of OSA.