{
  "abstract": "Introduction Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), transitioned from a face-to-face (F2F) to virtual (VR) set-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Appleby et al reported no effect on short-term CPAP compliance, however little literature exists for long-term adherence. Consistent CPAP usage is essential for symptom reduction and prevention of health complications. This retrospective service evaluation compares long-term CPAP compliance and symptomatic relief between both groups to ascertain whether VR set-up produces equally effective patient outcomes.Method 100 patients using CPAP were sequentially sampled from April 2019 (F2F) and a further 100 from April 2020 (VR). Demographic data and OSA severity levels were collected from EPR. Current Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) scores and compliance data were collected in 2024, at a median of 3.4 years post CPAP issuance, via EPR and the remote CPAP monitoring platform. Statistical analysis was conducted using STATA software.Results No significant differences were found between the proportion of patients currently using CPAP (F2F 89.7% vs VR 80.6%, p=0.20), or in the improvement of ESS scores (F2F 7.5 vs VR 8.6, p= 0.28). Statistically significant differences were found in the average CPAP usage per night (F2F 6.83 hours vs VR 6.45 hours, p= 0.012) illustrated in figure 1, and the number of days of CPAP usage in the last month (F2F 30 days vs VR 27.5 days, p= 0.0037).Abstract S19 Figure 1Boxplots displaying the distribution of current average hourly CPAP usage per night in both set-up groupsConclusion Currently, a similar proportion of both patient groups continue to use CPAP. Since both groups greatly exceeded the threshold for effective CPAP compliance (≥4 hours/night on ≥70% of nights over 30 days), the F2F group’s additional 20 minutes and 2.5 days of CPAP usage is unlikely to be of clinical significance. Furthermore, both groups reported similar ESS score improvements reflecting comparable symptomatic benefit. Hence, VR CPAP set-up can be confidently continued by this sleep service.References Appleby G, Elliot MW, Young R, Ghosh D. Successful virtual CPAP set up in obstructive sleep apnoea: a positive innovation during the pandemic. Respir Med. 2024;222:107513.Qureshi A, Ballard RD, Nelson HS. Obstructive sleep apnea. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2003;112(4):643–51.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University of Leeds, Leeds, UK"
      ],
      "name": "N Haq"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University of Leeds, Leeds, UK"
      ],
      "name": "S Imaan"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "St. James’s University Hospital, Leeds, UK"
      ],
      "name": "M Latham"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "St. James’s University Hospital, Leeds, UK"
      ],
      "name": "D Ghosh"
    }
  ],
  "title": "S19 Impact of virtual CPAP set-up on long-term compliance",
  "uid": "73d90106-ac92-54e3-a706-fd4a56eae00b"
}