Abstract
Background: The most effective treatment method of OSAS is CPAP therapy. In this study, we aimed to determine the factors affecting the device compatibility in patients with OSAS who underwent auto-CPAP therapy.
Material and methods: Patients with OSAS who underwent auto-CPAP therapy between July 2014 and May 2017 were included in our study. According to the CPAP compliance, patients were divided into two groups as group 1 with sufficient compliance and group 2 with insufficient compliance. The mean AHI values, average and minimum-maximum CPAP use periods, side effects related to device use, and follow-up ESS results were compared among the groups after 4 weeks of CPAP therapy.
Results: A total of 240 patients with OSAS who underwent auto-CPAP therapy were included to our study. Mean duration of CPAP use was 26.15 ± 4.89 days, mean duration of device use for per night was 5.31 ± 1.32 hours and average compliance rate was 60.8% within 4 weeks for the whole study population. Significant differences were found between two groups regarding the side effects such as the skin irritation, device noises, and morning headache. Furthermore, device satisfaction, mean-AHI values and ESS scores were significantly different between the two groups.
Conclusion: Side effects related to the CPAP mask determine the CPAP compliance rates among OSAS patients. We believe that detailed information about the difficulties that patients may encounter should be given to the patients before the onset of the therapy and eventually patients should be encouraged to use the device.

Key words: Sleep apnea, compliance, CPAP, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome