THE DISTRIBUTION OF CPAP FACILITIES FOR THE TREATMENT OF OSA IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM OF SÃO PAULO STATE, BRAZIL
International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology
THE DISTRIBUTION OF CPAP FACILITIES FOR THE TREATMENT OF OSA IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM OF SÃO PAULO STATE, BRAZIL
Autor Correspondente: Antunes L | [email protected]
Resumos Cadastrados
Resumo Inglês:
INTRODUCTION: The National Constitution assures every Brazilian citizen the right to health promotion and treatment. However, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation involves high costs for the healthcare system. Aim: To analyze CPAP prescription criteria, patients' waiting time, treatment compliance, and clinical improvement in a public hospital in Brazil. Methods FMB is the only Sleep Service in the public healthcare system for 2 million people. We analyzed the charts of patients on ambulatory CPAP for OSA severity, co-morbidities, details of the CPAP prescription, patient's waiting time, compliance, and clinical improvement over a 3-year period from 2010 to 2012. RESULTS: Two hundred and seventy-eight patients had been evaluated for CPAP treatment. Their mean age was 52 years; 34% had been diagnosed with severe OSA; and the most frequent co-morbidities were obesity and hypertension. Only 115 (54.9%) had already received CPAP at the time of survey, and the waiting time was 9.15 ± 5 (mean ± SD) months; the longest waiting period was 21 months. 92% of patients received the prescribed CPAP correctly and 78% got the prescribed mask. Follow-up at 3-month intervals showed that only 13.1% of patients had adverse effects, the most common of which was difficulty in adapting to the prescribed mask, and most patients adhered to treatment by using CPAP for more than 4 h every night. CONCLUSION: Access to Sleep Centers is insufficient in the Brazilian Public Health System and the waiting time for receiving CPAP is very long; this is a matter of concern considering the high percentage of severe disease among OSA patients. Most prescribed masks did not fit properly leading to difficulty in adaptation. Close follow-up is necessary for good compliance, but only few hospitals offer attendance.