Reliability of home CPAP titration with different automatic CPAP devices

BACKGROUND: CPAP titration may be completed by automatic apparatus. However, differences in pressure behaviour could interfere with the reliability of pressure recommendations. Our objective was to compare pressure behaviour and effective pressure recommendations between three Automatic CPAP machines (Autoset Spirit, Remstar Auto, GK 420). METHODS: Sixteen untreated obstructive sleep apnea patients were randomly allocated to one of the 3 tested machines for a one-week home titration trial in a crossover design with a 10 days washout period between trials. RESULTS: The median pressure value was significantly lower with machine GK 420 (5.9 +/- 1.8 cm H(2)O) than with the other devices both after one night and one week of CPAP titration (7.4 +/- 1.3 and 6.6 +/- 1.9 cm H(2)O). The maximal pressure obtained over the one-week titration was significantly higher with Remstar Auto (12.6 +/- 2.4 cm H(2)O, Mean +/- SD) than with the two other ones (10.9 +/- 1.0 and 11.0 +/- 2.4 cm H(2)O). The variance in pressure recommendation significantly differed between the three machines after one night and between Autoset Spirit and the two other machines after 1 week. CONCLUSION: Pressure behaviour and pressure recommendation significantly differ between Auto CPAP machines both after one night and one week of home titration.