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Sierra

Sierra
Joined Jul 2018
Bio

CPAP: AirSense 10 AutoSet

Set to CPAP Fixed Mode

Pressure 11 cm

Ramp: Auto

Ramp Start: 9 cm

EPR: 2, Full Time

Mask: ResMed AirFit P10 Nasal Pillow

Canada

Sierra
Joined Jul 2018
Bio

CPAP: AirSense 10 AutoSet

Set to CPAP Fixed Mode

Pressure 11 cm

Ramp: Auto

Ramp Start: 9 cm

EPR: 2, Full Time

Mask: ResMed AirFit P10 Nasal Pillow

Canada

I am not a medical professional and can't comment on the significance of O2 dropping that low for that length of time. It obviously is not ideal, but you would have to ask your doctor if it is a significant concern or not.

With respect to the machine only flagging a 10 second CA, I believe that is because you took a couple of partial breaths that were enough for it to start the count over again. I believe the machine starts the clock when the flow rate goes to zero, and at 4 second it starts a rapid pulse in the flow. It measures the impact that has on pressure. If it cause a larger pressure fluctuation, then it decides there is an obstruction. If the pressure does not have a significant pressure fluctuation then it concludes the airway is open. And when it lasts 10 seconds it flags it as an event. In the first section you can see the slight pressure fluctuation after 4 second, but the total event does not last 10 seconds, so it is not flagged. The smaller middle one did not last 4 seconds, so there is no flow pulse test. The last one starts the pulse after 4 seconds and lasts the full minimum of 10 seconds to flag the event as a CA.

I presume you have a BiLevel machine for a specific reason. Would it be to address central apnea issues? There are two ways that are often taken to address CA. One is to provide a pressure support (which I see is set at 4 cm) to help assist breathing. This appears to be the approach taken in your case. The other method used is to do everything possible to minimize pressure. In many cases the higher the pressure used the more likely central apnea events can occur.

What I see is that your EPAP pressure is very low, and it seems not much is needed to prevent obstructive apnea. However the 4 cm of pressure support forces IPAP to go much higher to 10 cm or so. You could ask your sleep doctor if setting the pressure support to zero would be a possibility. That would most likely keep the pressure up to 4 cm lower, and may reduce the frequency of central apnea events.

Hope that helps some,