Efficacy and safety assessment of expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP) mask for OSAHS therapy

Objective

We have designed the expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP) mask to provide a new sort of therapeutic strategies for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS). And this study aims to assess the safety, efficacy and compliance of the EPAP therapy.

Methods

40 healthy volunteers were enrolled to measure the end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure (PETCO₂) while being treated by EPAP mask. 40 symptomatic moderate or severe OSAHS patients (AHI ≥ 15/h) recruited were equally divided into two groups randomly and treated with CPAP or mask for a week respectively. After a week of washing out, the patients were applied with exchanged therapeutic methods for another week. The PSG was performed at the end of each week of treatment with device-on.

Results

There were no significant differences of PETCO₂ under different exhaled positive pressure level between CPAP, EPAP therapies and non-therapy for the healthy volunteers (P > 0.05). After being treated, among the OSAHS patients in the two groups, the ESS scores and AHI decreased, and minimum SaO₂ and mean SaO₂ increased significantly (all P > 0.05). There was no significant differences of the efficacy between EPAP and CPAP therapy.

Conclusions

EPAP mask therapy was safe and reliable with significant efficacy for selected OSAHS patients. However, the compliance needs further improvement.