ResMed Studies: PAP Adherence Yields Positive Benefits for Patients

• By Laurie Watanabe
• Jun 14, 2023

ResMed has released the results of two studies that demonstrate the benefits of positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy.

In a June 8 announcement, ResMed said, “The studies demonstrated reductions in hospitalizations and emergency room visits, as well as costs, thanks to PAP therapy adherence.”

In one study of more than 1,400 people — half of whom were PAP adherent and half of whom were not — ResMed said results “showed people with OSA [obstructive sleep apnea] and systolic heart failure who remained adherent to PAP had 24-percent fewer ER [emergency room] visits. They also incurred 40-percent lower costs related to hospitalizations and ER visits over one year ($3,500 vs. $5,879) compared to non-adherent patients.”

The second study included more than 1,900 participants, once again divided evenly between compliant and non-compliant PAP users. “It demonstrated that PAP-adherent people with OSA and diastolic heart failure had 36-percent fewer ER visits and 57-percent fewer hospitalizations,” the ResMed announcement noted. “They incurred 18-percent lower related costs (an average $12,732 vs. $15,610) over one year.”

Fatima Sert Kuniyoshi, ResMed’s clinical research director and the research’s lead author, said in the announcement, “Since three out of four people with heart failure also have sleep apnea, these findings underscore the significant role PAP treatment plays in keeping people healthy and out of the hospital. I hope this leads to a greater emphasis on PAP prescription and monitoring for the sake of the patients as well as the hospitals and ERs that would otherwise require added beds and resources to care for them.”

ResMed presented the research at SLEEP 2023 in Indianapolis earlier this month.