Some patients start sleep apnoea treatment without in-person guidance

Some people with sleep apnoea in Finland collect their treatment devices from automated lockers and rely on videos for instructions, Yle reports. Healthcare regions follow different practices, and the Respiratory Association says some patients do not receive enough guidance.

An estimated 850,000 people in Finland have at least moderate sleep apnoea, a condition that causes pauses in breathing during sleep. It is mainly treated with a CPAP device, which keeps airways open by blowing air into them. In the Satakunta healthcare region, nearly 13,000 patients use one.

In Satakunta, patients collect equipment for an overnight sleep study from a hospital locker and attach the measurement sensors themselves, following an instructional video. Staff assess the results and the patient’s symptoms to decide on further treatment. Some may be advised to lose weight or use positional therapy or an oral appliance.

Patients who need a CPAP device collect it from a nurse. Some watch an instructional video beforehand, then meet with a nurse to have a mask fitted and review how to use the equipment. Satakunta’s chief physician for respiratory diseases, Eija Nieminen, says the region has not considered distributing CPAP starter kits through lockers because that would remove contact with a nurse.

Guidance varies between regions

Practices for sleep studies are broadly similar across Finland, but healthcare regions decide how to distribute CPAP devices. In some regions, patients collect the treatment device from a locker and start using it with written instructions or videos.

The Respiratory Association says it has recently received feedback from around Finland that some patients have collected devices without personal instruction. A survey by the association found that only half of people with sleep apnoea had been invited to an information session about the condition and its treatment. Many also felt that guidance on devices and masks was insufficient, says the association’s special adviser, Satu Mustonen.

Mustonen says instruction should be provided in a way that suits the patient, including face-to-face when needed. Ideally, family members should also understand how to maintain the device and its parts, she says.

Patients are responsible for equipment

Patients are responsible for caring for their equipment according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Satakunta has had cases in which pets have bitten through CPAP masks and patients have expected the healthcare region to replace them. Replacement masks cost 150 to 200 euros at wholesale prices, although healthcare regions generally replace broken equipment, the article says.

The association says working equipment is essential for patient safety. Satakunta receives about 1,300 new sleep apnoea patients each year, and existing devices are typically replaced every five to seven years.