CPAP Compliance

Many studies of CPAP compliance rates have been done. Those that use objectively and usually covertly measured compliance, report long-term compliance rates of 41-73%, with most in the 60% range. These rates go up considerably with a compliance program. Key elements to achieving good compliance are education, comfort, and follow-up. Patients that understand the long-term consequences of their disease are more likely to be compliant. Likewise, a proactive follow-up program can provide needed encouragement and earlier identification of problems.

With regard to humidification: Generally speaking it is advantageous to incorporate [heated] humidification into a CPAP/BIPAP delivery device. The human nose heats and humidifies the air we breathe during the course of a normal human breath. When delivering an artificial breath, as with a CPAP or BIPAP machine, often times the flow of air is too fast for the nose to do its job. Many times this leads to dried sinuses, and can cause a great deal of irritation and discomfort for the user. Heated humidification has been proven clinically to adequately heat and humidify the artificial CPAP/BIPAP breath to mimic that function normally handled by the nose.