PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Otto Schoch
AU  - Florent Baty
AU  - Jolanda Niedermann
AU  - Jochen Ruediger
AU  - Martin Brutsche
TI  - Improved adherence to CPAP by telemetric support in newly diagnosed OSAS patients
DP  - 2013 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P2045
VI  - 42
IP  - Suppl 57
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P2045.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P2045.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2013 Sep 01; 42
AB  - Introduction: Acceptance of positive airway pressure therapy (PAP) within the first month is predictive for long term adherence. Telemedicine is a novel tool to supervise PAP use at patient's home. We report 30-day results of a pilot study, comparing PAP use in telemetrically supervised vs. conventionally treated patients (pts).Methods: Between 1/2012 and 12/2012, of 293 newly diagnosed OSAS pts, 170 started PAP with a telemetric 3G-device (ResTraxx OnlineTM, ResMed) and 123 conventionally. For telemedicine pts, hours of PAP use and leak flow were checked on a protected online data depository 3 d/week. Phone calls were triggered by <4h-usage or average leak >0.4L/s for 2 consecutive nights. After 30 days, PAP use/night and number of nights without PAP were compared.Results: At baseline, OSAS severity (ESS, AHI, ODI) was not different between groups, but telemedicine pts were younger and more often outpatients.View this table:Baseline characteristics of the study populationWithin the first 30 days telemedicine pts used PAP 48 minutes/night longer (5.2 [3.5-6.3] vs 4.6 [2.6-6.1] h/night, p=0.05) and for more nights (28 [23-30] vs 26 [18-30], p<0.001). After adjusting for age and proportion of outpatients, the telemedicine effect was stronger (p=0.02).Conclusion: In this non-randomised pilot study, a telemetric support for the first month of PAP was technically feasible and increased PAP adherence. To determine the direct effects of telemedicine on medium and long-term PAP use, a randomised prospective study is necessary.