@article {Carvalho da Silva Almendra1346, author = {Alexandre Manuel Carvalho da Silva Almendra and C{\'a}tia Pereira and Jo{\~a}o Carvalho and Paula Pinto and Cristina B{\'a}rbara}, title = {FOLLOW-UP OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA TREATMENT: DIFFICULTIES FACED BY PRIMARY CARE UNITS}, volume = {56}, number = {suppl 64}, elocation-id = {1346}, year = {2020}, doi = {10.1183/13993003.congress-2020.1346}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {Background: Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) management is challenging for health systems. Due to the increasing demand for hospital sleep units, there has been growing interest in ambulatory models of care. Since 2015, the Portuguese model determinates the referral to primary care units of OSA patients with CPAP compliance and efficacy and without treatment complaints. The aim of this study was to evaluate the difficulties faced by primary care physicians in the follow-up of these patients.Methods: An anonymous online survey was emailed to all primary care physicians belonging to the Lisbon North primary care units.Results: We obtained 187 responses. The average age was 37.7(+11.3)years. Most respondents reported that they never(27.8\%) or rarely(54.5\%) had access to the reports of CPAP adherence delivered by home respiratory care providers. When questioned about the reports,61.5\% presented difficulties in their interpretation,and only 28.3\% performed some therapeutic attitudes. Regarding the recognition of the side effects of CPAP therapy as well as their correction,only 41.7\% and 16.6\% presented an affirmative answer,respectively. In relation to the renewal of the CPAP prescription in the Electronic Prescription(EP) of respiratory home care platform,most of them(85.6\%) didn{\textquoteright}t report any difficulty. When they needed to refer patients to a hospital sleep unit,77\% reported it was an easy process,being the main reasons for a new hospital referral:difficulties in adherence/adaptation to CPAP(65\%),presence of side effects(24.1\%),daytime sleepiness(18.7\%) and difficulties in EP(12.3\%).Conclusion: This study showed that a better articulation of primary care with the home respiratory care providers is still necessaryFootnotesCite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2020; 56: Suppl. 64, 1346.This abstract was presented at the 2020 ERS International Congress, in session {\textquotedblleft}Respiratory viruses in the "pre COVID-19" era{\textquotedblright}.This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).}, issn = {0903-1936}, URL = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/56/suppl_64/1346}, eprint = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content}, journal = {European Respiratory Journal} }