COMPLIANCE WITH NASAL CPAP CAN BE IMPROVED BY SIMPLE INTERVENTIONS

Effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) as a treat ment for obstructive sleep apnea can be limited by poor compliance, bu t little is known about how to improve compliance. We performed a rand omized, controlled clinical trial among 33 subjects of two interventio ns to improve compliance. One group of subjects received weekly phone calls to uncover any problems and encourage use, another received writ ten information about sleep apnea and the importance of regular CPAP u se, and a third served as control subjects. We found that intervention improved CPAP compliance (p = 0.059) and that the effect was particul arly strong when intervention occurred during the first month of CPAP treatment (p = 0.004). Although the sample size did not allow definiti ve investigation of other explanatory variables, subjects with lower l evels of education or those with relatives who used CPAP may have bene fited from intervention more than other subjects. We conclude that sim ple, inexpensive efforts to improve compliance with CPAP can be effect ive, especially when applied at the start of CPAP treatment, but optim al intervention may vary with certain patient characteristics.