Neurológia pre prax 3/2022

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) – 40 years of effective conservative obstructive sleep apnea treatment

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is an effective treatment for moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that improves OSA symptoms, reduces the health consequences of OSA, and improves the patient’s quality of life. Sufficient compliance and proper CPAP settings are required to achieve the therapeutic effect of CPAP. This treatment should be supplemented with other methods of OSA treatment, especially weight reduction. The principle of CPAP was described by Colin Sullivan in 1981, and many technical improvements have subsequently been made to facilitate its application and improve compliance. The discovery of CPAP is one of the milestones of modern medicine.

Keywords: continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), history of medicine, treatment compliance