Group education sessions and compliance with nasal CPAP therapy.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine an effective means of improving compliance with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

DESIGN: Retrospective chart review.

SETTING: An outpatient clinic at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

PATIENTS: Seventy-three patients with OSA.

INTERVENTIONS: 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.