Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) diagnosis, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment and follow-up
| RC versus TC | TC-noAPP versus TC-APP | |||||
| RC | TC | p-value | TC-noAPP | TC-APP | p-value | |
| Patients | 71 | 117 | 81 | 36 | ||
| OSA diagnosis | ||||||
| Diagnostic test | 0.040 | 0.697 | ||||
| Nocturnal pulse oximetry | 1 (1.41%) | 8 (6.84%) | 6 (7.41%) | 2 (5.56%) | ||
| Respiratory polygraphy | 44 (62.0%) | 83 (70.9%) | 59 (72.8%) | 24 (66.7%) | ||
| Polysomnography | 26 (36.6%) | 26 (22.2%) | 16 (19.8%) | 10 (27.8%) | ||
| AHI, events per h | 46.0 (32.5–67.6) | 40.8 (26.8–57.5) | 0.134 | 36.8 (25.1–53.0) | 53.1 (31.5–71.1) | 0.022 |
| In supine position | 57.5 (39.2–72.4) | 53.6 (32.0–70.2) | 0.157 | 47.3 (28.9–66.3) | 58.5 (38.6–75.6) | 0.146 |
| TST90 | 22.4±26.1% | 19.0±22.1% | 0.356 | 18.8±22.1% | 19.4±22.4% | 0.889 |
| Sleepiness | 0.292 | 0.019 | ||||
| No | 7 (9.86%) | 23 (20.0%) | 12 (14.8%) | 11 (32.4%) | ||
| Passive | 46 (64.8%) | 62 (53.9%) | 50 (61.7%) | 12 (35.3%) | ||
| Active | 13 (18.3%) | 21 (18.3%) | 15 (18.5%) | 6 (17.6%) | ||
| Driving | 5 (7.04%) | 9 (7.83%) | 4 (4.94%) | 5 (14.7%) | ||
| Apnoea | <0.001 | 0.067 | ||||
| No | 8 (11.3%) | 6 (5.17%) | 2 (2.47%) | 4 (11.4%) | ||
| Yes | 50 (70.4%) | 110 (94.8%) | 79 (97.5%) | 31 (88.6%) | ||
| Does not know | 13 (18.3%) | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | ||
| Fatigue | <0.001 | 0.461 | ||||
| No | 25 (35.2%) | 10 (8.62%) | 6 (7.41%) | 4 (11.4%) | ||
| Yes | 46 (64.8%) | 85 (73.3%) | 58 (71.6%) | 27 (77.1%) | ||
| Does not know | 0 (0.00%) | 21 (18.1%) | 17 (21.0%) | 4 (11.4%) | ||
| Restorative sleep | 14 (19.7%) | 29 (25.7%) | 0.454 | 21 (25.9%) | 8 (25.0%) | 1.000 |
| Choking | 28 (40.0%) | 50 (45.0%) | 0.608 | 34 (42.5%) | 16 (51.6%) | 0.514 |
| Nocturia, events per night | 2.00 (1.00–3.00) | 2.00 (1.00–3.00) | 0.882 | 2.00 (0.00–3.00) | 2.00 (1.00–3.00) | 0.842 |
| Epworth Sleepiness Scale score at diagnosis | 11.2±5.45 | 10.7±5.26 | 0.531 | 10.9±5.27 | 10.1±5.28 | 0.444 |
| CPAP treatment | ||||||
| CPAP adaptation | 64 (90.1%) | 111 (94.9%) | 0.346 | 75 (92.6%) | 36 (100%) | 0.222 |
| Number of CPAP titrations required | <0.001 | 1.000 | ||||
| 1 | 56 (78.9%) | 116 (99.1%) | 80 (98.8%) | 36 (100%) | ||
| >1 | 15 (21.1%) | 1 (0.85%) | 1 (1.23%) | 0 (0.00%) | ||
| 95th percentile pressure, cmH2O | 11.0±2.00 | 10.1±2.16 | 0.006 | 9.93±2.10 | 10.5±2.27 | 0.222 |
| Residual AHI, events per h | 1.60 (0.80–4.00) | 4.00 (2.30–6.70) | <0.001 | 4.10 (2.20–7.55) | 3.40 (2.58–4.62) | 0.424 |
| Early follow-up# | ||||||
| Follow-up visit attendance | 58 (90.6%) | 111 (100%) | 0.004 | 75 (100%) | 36 (100%) | |
| CPAP compliance, h·night−1 | 4.79±2.85 | 4.33±2.62 | 0.292 | 4.21±2.76 | 4.58±2.30 | 0.470 |
| CPAP compliance >4 h·night−1 | 45 (70.3%) | 70 (63.1%) | 0.419 | 44 (58.7%) | 26 (72.2%) | 0.240 |
| CPAP compliance >5 h·night−1 | 40 (56.3%) | 56 (47.9%) | 0.329 | 37 (45.7%) | 19 (52.8%) | 0.611 |
| Epworth Sleepiness Scale score change after CPAP treatment | 7.12±7.24 | 5.29±4.70 | 0.104 | 5.00±4.73 | 5.90±4.66 | 0.380 |
| Patient satisfaction¶ | 7.69±2.05 | 9.02±0.64 | <0.001 | 9.00±0.64 | 9.06±0.64 | 0.665 |
Numbers in bold represent a p-value of <0.05. Data are presented as median (interquartile range) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. RC: retrospective cohort; TC: telemedicine cohort; TC-noAPP: telemedicine cohort not using smartphone application; TC-APP: telemedicine cohort using smartphone application; AHI: apnoea–hypopnoea index; TST90: total sleep time with oxygen saturation <90%. #: 1 month; ¶: score out of 10.