group, on behalf of the medXcloud

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in heart failure, although the impact of OSA treatment remains unclear. We assessed the association between adherence to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy and healthcare resource utilization in patients with OSA and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Methods: Administrative insurance claims data linked with objective PAP therapy usage data from patients with OSA and HFrEF were used to measure the association of PAP adherence and a composite clinical outcome of hospitalization and emergency room (ER) visits. US Medicare defines PAP compliance as usage of the device for at least 4 hours/night for 70% of nights in a consecutive 30-day period over 90 days. PAP adherent patients met these criteria for all 4 90-day periods, while PAP non-adherent patients did not meet these criteria for any 90-day period over one year. Propensity score methods were used to create well matched groups with differing PAP adherence levels. Results: The study cohort consisted of 3,182 eligible patients (69.9% male, mean age 59.7 years) of whom 39% were considered adherent to PAP therapy (29% intermediate-adherent, 31% non-adherent). In the year after PAP prescription, after propensity score matching, PAP adherent patients had fewer hospital visits than non-adherent patients, driven by a 24% reduction in ER visits for adherent patients (Table 1a). These results remained consistent with inverse probability weighting and furthermore showed there were no statistically significant differences between intermediate-adherent and non-adherent patients for any outcome (Table 1b). Conclusions: Treating OSA with PAP therapy in patients with HFrEF is associated with a reduction in the composite outcome of hospitalization and ER visits, driven primarily by a reduction in ER visits. Consistent adherence to PAP therapy is required to realize these benefits.