Progress toward a clearer understanding of the role of bilevel positive airway pressure therapy for obstructive sleep apnea

摘要

Sullivan first described continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for the treatment of OSA in 1981.1 Saving patients from a disfiguring tracheostomy or an inconsistently effective uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, CPAP was nothing short of a revolution in OSA therapy. By 1985, there was a large and rapidly growing commercial market for CPAP. Although many patients with obstructive sleep apnea benefited from CPAP, some patients experienced difficulty tolerating it and a leading reason why was difficulty exhaling against the expiratory pressure load.