Comparison of sleep parameters at titration and subsequent compliance between CPAP-pretreated and non-CPAP-pretreated patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Background and purposeObstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients undergo continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for the first time on titration night, and then the effect of overnight CPAP treatment is estimated immediately. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of CPAP-pretreated and non-pretreated on patients with OSAHS.MethodsProspective randomized, controlled parallel study was performed. Seventy patients with OSAHS received autoadjusted CPAP treatment for 2 months and then received the standard manual titration (CPAP-pretreated group). The other 70 did not receive any CPAP treatment before receiving the standard manual titration (non-CPAP-pretreated group).ResultsThe CPAP-pretreated group had significantly improved sleep efficiency and arousal index in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep compared with the initial CPAP group at titration, whereas there were no significant differences between the two groups in other sleep parameters. Eight patients in the non-CPAP-pretreated group discontinued CPAP treatment 9 months after the titration, whereas one patient in the CPAP-pretreated group discontinued treatment.ConclusionsA preceding CPAP treatment showed minimal effects on sleep parameters on titration night and subsequent CPAP compliance rate, although it was speculated that this preceding treatment might be of benefit for better compliance in some patients.