1075 The Effect of Changing the First CPAP Mask on Compliance. (27th April 2018) - Mastromatto, N
Abstract: Introduction: CPAP and mask comfort is important to patient satisfaction and compliance. Yet the choice of the first mask varies across Sleep Centers and labs, DMEs, providers, patients, and coverage. We evaluated whether requesting masks changes after the initial CPAP fitting was associated with compliance or the type of medical insurance. We hypothesized that CPAP adherence would be higher in patients who changed their mask. Methods: Penn CPAP Program patients are all fitted by a lab technician, provider, or DME. We examined data on requests for replacement of the first mask among new CPAP prescriptions over a 6-month period (January - June 2017). We compared the rates of compliance in the first 90 days between those with and without mask replacements using chi-squared tests and whether these differences were dependent on specific insurers. Results: Of 1065 new CPAP patients, 302 (28.4%) requested replacement of the first mask within the first 90 days. Rates of treatment compliance did not differ between those with (67.9%) or without (68.8%) CPAP mask replacements (p=0.7691). Patients with Medicaid and Medicare had a higher rate of mask replacements (31.1% and 32.3%, respectively) than patients with Commercial (25.9%) or other insurance (22.9%) on average, although the difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.133). Conclusion: In this study of our patients with personal mask fittings, 28.4% requested a replacement of the first mask during the initial compliance period. At 90 days, their compliance was similar to those who did not change first masks. While changing a mask may take days/weeks out of the 90 day compliance window, compliance did not appear decreased by time taken to change to a second preferred mask. There was some evidence of increased mask replacement in Medicare or Medicaid patients. Support (If Any): none.