Telemonitoring in CPAP Treatment

Wireless telemonitoring was used during the habituation phase of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients. Patients were allocated either to the telemonitoring group (n=50) or the usual care group (n=61). Nursing time, patient satisfaction and treatment efficiency and efficacy were compared between the groups at baseline and after one year treatment the CPAP adherence and treatment efficacy were recorded.

This study was part of our regular testing and quality assurance procedure when developing and revising clinical treatment protocol of sleep apnoea patients. When planning remarkable changes in treatment protocol we have to test whether it is feasible and cost-effective to change the protocol. The data was retrospectively collected from hospital records and nurses' notes (nursing time). According to instructions of our hospital, the Ethics Committee approval is not required. The approval of the hospital (Head of the Division of Medicine) for testing the wireless telemonitoring system of CPAP treatment was applied and received (Protocol Record T200/2013, diary number TO5/049/13). Written informed consent was obtained from those patients allocated to the telemonitoring group.