[Comparison of manual versus automatic titration in pressure determination for long-term therapy of continuous positive airway pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome].

OBJECTIVE

To compare the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) of automatic titration with that of manual titration.

METHODS

A total of 58 patients with obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) diagnosed by overnight polysomnography at sleep center of First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University were studied between December 2010 and December 2012. Manual titration was performed under full polysmnography and auto-titration at home for 3-7 nights.

RESULTS

There were 52 males and 6 females with an age range of (48 ± 11) years. CPAP pressure titrated by automatic device (10.0 ± 2.2) cm H2O (1 cm H2O = 0.098 kPa) was significantly higher than that titrated manually (7.5 ± 1.5) cm H2O (P = 0.000). Apnea-hyponea index decreased significantly from (54.0 ± 21.0) events/h pre-treatment to (3.8 ± 2.5) events/h post-treatment under manual titration (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

CPAP pressure titrated by automatic device is usually higher than that titrated manually. Manual titration should be performed if a patient can not tolerate the CPAP pressure titrated by an automatic device.