Is There a Place For Home Oxygen Therapy in the Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent episodes of partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, often associated with a reduction in blood oxygen saturation or with micro-arousals. To date, Québec’s Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) does not have any management program for these patients, who are growing in number. Applications for assistance from regional domestic help services (services régionaux de soins à domicile – SRSAD) are becoming increasingly frequent. These regional services are responsible for implementing Québec’s home oxygen therapy program (Programme d’oxygénothérapie à domicile – POD).

The Direction de l’organisation des services médicaux et technologiques, a division under the MSSS, asked AETMIS to assess the place of oxygen therapy in OSA treatment, along with the possibility of including OSA patients in the program, depending on the complexity of the case.

Upon concluding this analysis, AETMIS found that:

• Obstructive sleep apnea is a recognized disorder and a growing public health problem.

• This disorder has major impacts on patients’ health and quality of life.

• The public health and social service system offers no mechanism for the management of OSA patients.

• The purpose and current structure of the home oxygen therapy program (POD) do not respond to the needs of OSA patients.

• A proven and recommended primary treatment for OSA in adults is available: continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which is not accessible to patients in the public system.

On the basis of these data, AETMIS concludes that oxygen therapy is not an effective treatment for OSA, neither in adults nor in children.