Outcomes Data for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment: What Do We Really Know?

Obstructive sleep apnea is one of the most common chronic respiratory illnesses, causing daytime sleepiness and cognitive and cardiovascular morbidity. The most successful treatment has been with positive airway pressure (continuous positive airway pressure or bilevel positive airway pressure). It has been surprisingly difficult to demonstrate improvement in these outcomes with continuous positive airway pressure treatment. This may be because of difficulty quantifying the illness, and heterogeneity in pathophysiology and clinical presentations. This article reviews what has been proven about clinical outcomes, and what is likely if not completely proven.