Can telemedicine improve CPAP adherence?

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common, important disease associated with daytime sleepiness and a reduced quality of life. Moreover, untreated OSA is associated with increased healthcare utilisation and a significantly increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and stroke. Treatment of patients with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) improves quality of life and daytime sleepiness. CPAP treatmentmay also substantially reduce rates of cardiac events andmotor vehicle crashes. 3 One of the major barriers to CPAP treatment is adherence. Many patients reject, discontinue or use it irregularly or suboptimally. The rate of CPAP discontinuation in the first 3 years of prescription ranges from 12% to 25%. When patients do not use CPAP sufficiently, clinical outcomes are compromised, demonstrating that optimising adherence is an important aspect of patient management.