Continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, is most commonly used in sleep medicine, but has other uses as well. For sleep apnea, CPAP provides continuous ventilatory support by pushing air or an air/oxygen mixture, at a set pressure, into the airway, keeping it open to prevent snoring and sleep apnea. CPAP can also be used to relieve respiratory distress in patients suffering from illness or disease by providing respiratory support in hopes of avoiding respiratory failure. Because CPAP machines are designated medical devices, they are regulated by the FDA. The use of a CPAP machine for both home and hospital use requires an order from a licensed physician.
Respiratory Distress
Using CPAP as a noninvasive means of ventilation is widely used in hospitals to avoid the invasive procedure of intubation and ventilation, which is placing an endotracheal tube into the airway and placing the patient on a ventilator. CPAP can often keep an individual off a ventilator by providing temporary support during a medical crisis brought on by an acute asthma attack, COPD exacerbation or drug overdose.
Upper Airway Obstruction
When a patient complains of excessive daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, depression, snoring, gasping, restlessness and awakening frequently throughout the night, a physician has reason to suspect sleep apnea and order a sleep study, or a polysomnography test. This test is most often conducted in a sleep lab where the patient is continually monitored for changes in oxygen level and abnormal sleep patterns. When the test results show the patient is experiencing frequent drops in oxygen level, apnea episodes or lapses in breathing, CPAP may be ordered. CPAP has been shown to be the most effective nonsurgical approach to relieving sleep disorders.
Neural Damage
Central sleep apnea occurs when breathing repeatedly stops and starts throughout the night because the brain is not sending the appropriate signals to the respiratory muscles. According to MayoClinic.com central sleep apnea accounts for less than 5 percent of all sleep apneas and can result from damage caused by a stroke or from heart failure.
Immature Lungs
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia, also called BPD, often affects preterm infants born more than 10 weeks prematurely or weighing less than 2 pounds who experience breathing problems at birth. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, their lungs have not yet matured enough to enable them to breathe on their own. Not all preterm infants have this condition, but those who do often are treated with continuous positive airway pressure with added oxygen support.
