Acceptance and short-term tolerance of nasal continuous positive airway pressure therapy in elderly patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Short-term compliance of nasal continuous airway pressure (nCPAP) therapy in elderly patients (65 years or older; n = 115) with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea was investigated. When nCPAP therapy was offered to elderly patients with an apnea-hypopnea index greater than 20/h, the acceptance rate of nCPAP therapy was 70%. Of those, the short-term tolerance rate of nCPAP therapy (usage over 3 months after initial trial) was 83%. The patients who refused or abandoned nCPAP therapy were less severe (in terms of the apnea-hypopnea index), less sleepy and there were a lower number with hypertension. Considering the short-term compliance of nCPAP therapy reported for middle-aged patients in the literature, it is found that acceptance and short-term tolerance of nCPAP therapy in elderly patients is high, especially in patients with hypertension and excessive daytime sleepiness.