Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2024 Aug;67(8):440-446. 10.3342/kjorl-hns.2023.00885.

Compliance and Efficacy of Positive Airway Pressure Therapy in Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Related Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients

• Jin MH
• Kim MW
• Choi MS

• KMID: 2558586
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3342/kjorl-hns.2023.00885

Abstract

Background and Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate the compliance and treatment effects of both rapid eye movement sleep related obstructive sleep apnea (REM_ OSA) and non-stage specific OSA (NS_OSA) patients prescribed with positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy.
Subjects and Method
Medical records of 223 patients diagnosed with OSA from July 2021 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Six-month PAP compliance, symptoms questionnaires were compared for 60 patients in the REM_OSA group and 163 in the NS_OSA group.
Results
For patients in mild NS_OSA, mild REM_OSA, moderate NS_OSA, moderate REM_ OSA, severe NS_OSA, and severe REM_OSA groups, the compliance of six-month PAP was 50.0%, 33.3% (p=0.467), 69.6%, 58.3% (p>0.999), 70.7%, and 0% (p=0.023), respectively. In the NS_OSA group, PAP led to significant daytime sleepiness score improvement (7.3±3.4 to 5.7±3.6, p=0.022). In contrast, the scores for the REM_OSA group changed insignificantly (8.4±4.7 to 6.8±2.9, p=0.332).
Conclusion
This study revealed that PAP therapy compliance of the REM_OSA group was not lower than that of the NS_OSA group, except for the severe subgroup. However, REM_OSA was found to be less effective in improving daytime sleepiness symptoms than NS_OSA after PAP therapy.

Keyword

Compliance; Continuous positive airway pressure; Obstructive sleep apnea; Rapid eye movement sleep