Article Text
Statistics from Altmetric.com
QUESTION: In patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), does continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy improve subjective and objective measures of sleepiness more than placebo?
Data sources
Studies were identified by searching Medline (1966–2001); previous meta-analyses, including the Cochrane database; and bibliographies of retrieved articles; and by contacting experts in the field.
Study selection
Studies were selected if they were randomised controlled trials of CPAP therapy in adult patients with OSA for ≥1 week and they evaluated subjective sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and objective sleepiness using either the multiple sleep latency (MSLT) or the maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT) score, and had a control arm. Studies that compared CPAP devices with oral appliances and autotitrating devices, and observational studies without a control group were excluded.
Data extraction
Data were …
Footnotes
-
Sources of funding: National Institutes of Health; Medical Research Council of Canada; American Heart Association.
-
For correspondence: Dr N T Ayas, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ayasnajib{at}pol.net