Did COVID-19 impact Positive Airway Pressure adherence in 2020? A cross-sectional study of 8477 patients with sleep apnea

BACKGROUND: Whether the COVID-19 pandemic impacts Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) adherence over the long-term is unknown and only preliminary short-term data have been reported. METHODS: With the aim of describing the impact of the first and second waves of COVID-19 on PAP adherence during 2020 in France, we designed a cross-sectional study of Sleep-Apnea (SA)-patients under PAP telemonitoring. To examine PAP adherence in adult SA patients, we assessed de-identified data from a non-profit healthcare provider database during the period January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020. Included patients met the following criteria: (i) PAP-treated for at least 4 months before January 1, 2019 and with continuous PAP during both 2019 and 2020; (ii) ≥ 360 daily PAP telemonitored data per year. For PAP adherence, data were collected using the PAP-software. RESULTS: 8477/10482 patients were finally included in the analysis [72.4% male, median age 70 years (IQ(25–75): 61–77], 25.6% < 62 years old, initial Apnea–Hypopnea Index (AHI) of 41 (31–59)/h. Median PAP adherence was 7.21 (6.12–8.10) h/day in 2020 versus 7.12 (6.05–8.02) h/day in 2019, p < 0.001. The median difference in PAP adherence between the first 2020 lockdown and the corresponding 2019 weeks was 9.75 (CI(95%) 8.75–10.75) min/day, p < 0.001. The median difference in PAP adherence between the second 2020 lockdown and the corresponding 2019 weeks was 5.00 (CI(95%) 4.00–6.00) min/day, p < 0.001. If we consider the minimal clinically important difference of 30 min for PAP adherence, 30.4% and 26% of the patients increased their PAP adherence by at least 30 min during the first and second lockdowns respectively; 17.6% and 19.3% of the patients lowered their PAP adherence by at least 30 min in the first and second lockdowns, respectively. CONCLUSION: During the first and second lockdowns, the COVID-19 pandemic had a clinically irrelevant effect on PAP adherence for the study population. Future studies are needed to describe COVID-19 pandemic impact on PAP adherence not only for long-term PAP-treated SA patients but also for incident cases. Trial registration The COVADENE study was registered on March 1st, 2021 on ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT04775966)