[Long-term effects and complications of home nasal CPAP therapy for obstructive sleep apnea patients]

We treated 23 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) by nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) at home, and examined the long-term compliance, clinical effects, and complications after NCPAP therapy. Nineteen patients continued and four patients discontinued the therapy during the mean observation period of 15 months, and the compliance was 83%. There was no significant difference in age, weight, and sleep data between the compliant group (C) and non-compliant group (NC). The causes of discontinuation of therapy were lack of adaptation to the apparatus (2 cases), improvement of clinical symptoms due to weight reduction (1 case), and induction of asthma attack (1 case). Disappearance of excessive daytime sleepiness, improvement of sleep quality, and disappearance of nocturia were observed in most cases, and disappearance of morning headache and improvement of sexual ability and emotional instability were also observed in several cases. Nine cases (39%) complained of discomfort due to the nasal mask and 6 cases (26%) complained of dryness of the mouth and nose, whereas 10 cases (43%) experienced no adverse effects. No serious complications were observed. These findings suggest that long-term home NCPAP is an effective and safe treatment for OSAS patients.