Patients who have not had success with their CPAP devices may want to try oral appliance therapy. An oral appliance allows for more freedom of movement during sleep and is generally more comfortable for patients.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is the most common treatment used across the spectrum of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity, and is the recommended initial treatment for most patients with moderate to severe OSA.
Power socket needed – CPAPs require a nearby power socket, as well as a secure surface to sit on, whereas an EPAP simply sits in the user’s nostrils without being attached to a machine.
Surgical modifications of the upper airway for obstructive sleep apnea in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
As a corollary to this, it is important to consider repeat DISE following multiple surgeries as the dynamics of the upper airway will have been affected. Another option, in lieu of radiofrequency treatments, remains laser-assisted palatoplasty, which has been shown to reduce pressure requirements and in some cases, remove the need for CPAP entirely (23). Elshaug et al.
One of CPAP therapy’s most common side effects is skin irritation or red marks from headgear. These spots typically appear along your cheeks or nose and may become sensitive to touch. Over time, CPAP skin irritations can become infected and require medical intervention.
Non-surgical options include technical modifications, lifestyle changes and support alongside oral appliances. Surgery can be effective in either facilitating the use of CPAP or in bypassing and improving anatomical obstructions or areas of collapse, which are typically multilevel.
Use Heat to Reduce Bloating and Pain: A heating pad or warm bath may encourage trapped air to move through your body so that it can be released.
These clinical factors highlight the need to address nasal patency and obstruction. A recent computational fluid dynamics click here analysis has highlighted this effect of nasal obstruction on CPAP treatment, with a particular correlation between inspiratory pressures and maximal airflow velocity (42).
The main limitations with these surgical studies remain their power, level of evidence (typically retrospective level IV) and varying definitions of successful outcomes.
When to Ask Your Doctor About Inspire Speak to a doctor if you have obstructive sleep apnea, think you might meet the eligibility requirements for Inspire, and have not had success with CPAP therapy. A trained medical provider will be able to help you determine if Inspire is right for you.
At this juncture, should the patient still not tolerate CPAP, then a surgical consultation is indicated. A thorough clinical history and examination is warranted to elicit potential therapeutic targets. A full assessment of co-morbidities and specifically body mass index is required, as the latter has been shown to correlate with surgical outcomes.
Size – A major difference between EPAP and CPAP devices is their size, with EPAPs being much smaller in comparison.
It can also cause excessive daytime sleepiness, which may increase safety risks and accidents or simply make it hard to function. Luckily, several treatment options are available to treat sleep apnea.