The effects of humidification of nasal cpap on adherence, compliance, patient satisfaction and symptoms: A preliminary report

CPAP can be a difficult treatment for some patients to tolerate. Nasal symptoms are one of the limiting factors. We examined whether providing a heated humidifier to patients would influence adherence, compliance, symptoms and satisfaction. METHOD: Randomised controlled trial of 80 patients referred to begin CPAP treatment for proven obstructive sleep apnoea. Patients ere randomised to receive standard care with (CPAP-H) a humidifier or standard care without (CPAPNH) a humidifier. Patients were followed at 2 weeks, 4 weeks 8 weeks and 3 months. Subjective symptom scores, satisfaction on an analogue scale, SF36 and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) were recorded. Objective data on CPAP compliance was also recorded. RESULTS: 40 patients (32 males and 8 females) have completed the 3-month trial. (19 CPAP-H & 21 CPAP-NH). Mean age 52.2 ±10.3 yrs. 5 patients (3 CPAP-H & 2 CPAP-NH) withdrew from the study due to inability to tolerate CPAP. Humidification did not appear to influence compliance defined as at least 4 hours use per night for 80% of nights.( CPAP-H 73.4% .CPAP-NH 78.6% ). Patient satisfaction w-as not significantly different between the groups (CPAP-H 9.0 i 1.5 & CPAP-NH 8.7 ±2.1 ). ESS at the end of the study was significantly reduced compared with the baseline in both groups (12.0 ±5.9 reduced to 6.214.3) but there was no significant difference between those who did and did not have humidification. CONCLUSIONS: These interim results suggest that adding humidification to CPAP treatment in OSA does not influence patient adherence, compliance, satisfaction or ESS.