Optimal Level of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure: Auto-Adjusting Titration versus Titration with a Predictive Equation

Objectives:The aims of the present study were twofold. We sought to compare two methods of titrating the level of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) — Auto-adjusting titration and titration using a predictive equation — With full-night manual titration used as the benchmark. We also investigated the reliability of the two methods in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).Methods:Twenty consecutive adult patients with OSAS who had successful, full-night manual and auto-adjusting CPAP titration participated in this study. The titration pressure level was calculated with a previously developed predictive equation based on body mass index and apnea-hypopnea index.Results:The mean titration pressure levels obtained with the manual, auto-adjusting, and predictive equation methods were 9.0 ± 3.6, 9.4 ± 3.0, and 8.1 ± 1.6 cm H2O, respectively. There was a significant difference in the concordance within the range of ±2 cm H2O (p = 0.019) between both the auto-adjusting titration and the tit...