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Permalink Reply by Judy on April 30, 2009 at 11:42am

What brand and model CPAP are you using? That will help us clarify a little better for you.

The very basics are:
AHI = apnea/hypopnea index = number of apneas and hypopneas you experienced per hour combined
AI = apnea index = number of apneas you experienced per hour
HI = hypopnea index = number of hypopneas you experienced per hour
xPAP = any type of CPAP, VPAP, Bi-PAP, BPAP, etc.
VPAP = Resmed's proprietary name for their bi-level PAPs
Bi-PAP = Respironics' proprietary name for their bi-level PAPs
BPAP = often used as a generic name for any bi-level PAP
90th Percentile = the number (level) AT OR BELOW which you spent the session (Respiornics)
95th Percentile = the number (level) AT OR BELOW which you spent the session (Resmed)
Vent flow rate = allowed vent rate = allowed leak rate = the amount of "leak" or flow of air allowed to "leak" thru the holes built into the mask system to allow for the escape of stale, breathed air containing C02 at various set pressures. The literature for each mask has a table or chart of the allowed "Vent flow rate" for that particular mask model.
Compliance = the number of hours and number of nights you use your xPAP

An AHI less than 5.0 is considered "normal".
Leak is the amount of air that escapes thru your mouth, between your lips whilst wearing your mask w/xPAP turned on and depending on the brand of xPAP the Vent flow rate
The usual acceptable Compliance rate is at least 4 hours per night and at least 5 nights a week of xPAP use.

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Permalink Reply by KAREN JAFFE on April 30, 2009 at 4:11pm

Thank you so much Judy. Your reply to Belinda has really helped me to understand also.

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Permalink Reply by Belinda Haman on April 30, 2009 at 4:41pm

Thanks so much Judy this will come in handy.....

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Permalink Reply by Judy on April 30, 2009 at 5:14pm

I have a Resmed and haven't used a Respironics in a LONG time and never the Respironics M Series. However, IF the DME supplier's RT has turned access to the advanced patient menu on a Resmed a simple button combo will bring up your Efficacy Data on the LCD screen.

On a Resmed you would press the Left and Right buttons and hold for 4-5 seconds. Efficacy Data should appear on the LCD screen. From then on in it is just a matter of Left button to Enter, Right button to Exit, Up button to return to the previous screen and Down button to proceed to the next screen. You can NOT alter your therapy settings in anyway from this advanced patient menu.

There may be some slight differences between what will appear on the LCD screen between the S8s and the S8 IIs but I don't think anything too different. And you MUST access this data BEFORE noon because at noon that night's data is rolled over into the total averages.

Pressure (the 95th percentile, i.e. the pressure AT OR BELOW which you spent 95% of the night
Leak (the 95th percentiel, i.e. the rate of Leak AT OR BELOW which you spent 95% of the night
AHI (the number of apneas and hypopneas PER HOUR you experienced that night)
AI (the number of apneas PER HOUR you experienced that night)
You can also access these averages for one week, one month, six months and one year when you've been using your Resmed long enough

The Usage Data will display
The number of hours used that night
The number of nights used and the number of nights since your Resmed was first used

If you have a Respironics, access to the data requires a different "combination" and somewhat different data. I think Mike has a Respironics and can better explain how to access the data and what data is available in the menu that is "safe" to access w/o being able to accidentally or intentionally alter your xPAP therapy.

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Permalink Reply by PD Laire on May 1, 2009 at 3:53am

Below are instructions for how to access the provider menu on the Respironics M Series Pro CPAP machines. Caution: before changing any of the settings on your machine, make sure you write down each and every pre-set setting so that if you make a mistake, you can change it back to the way it was. Also, changing the settings on your own without advice from your physician is discouraged.

1. Hold down the <- -> buttons while plugging in the power on the back, wait for 2 beeps, release buttons.
2. Press the + key. <- -> buttons move to next field, -/+ keys decrement/increment
3. Check the following field(s):

-Therapy Mode = CPAP

-CPAP Pressure = NN (4 - 20 cm.)

-C-Flex Setting = (options are off, 1, 2 or 3)

-Ramp Time = (options are 05 to 45 min)

-Ramp Start Pressure = cm (Min. 4cm)

-Mask Alert Feature = On (On/Off)

-Auto Off Feature = Off (On/off)

-Show AHI/Leak Feature = On (On/Off)

Press On/Off button to exit.

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Permalink Reply by Belinda Haman on May 2, 2009 at 7:55pm

Thanks sooooo much PD :)

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Permalink Reply by Mary J on May 2, 2009 at 11:47pm

This is EXCELLENT infomation. Here's some data I got from my doctor yesterday. It is a reort on Sleep Architecture from my sleep study. I'd love to get your feedback on this....as I'm new and learning so much right now.

Total Recording Time 422 NREM 300 91.5
Total Sleep Time 328 min.
Sleep Efficiency 78%
Wake after Sleep Onset 65 min
Sleep Onset Latency 29 min

Total Arousals 215 39.3
PLM w Arousal 0 0
Total PLM 8 1.5

Respiratory Data

Supine Non Supine REM NREM
41 61.7 17.3 79.3 37.4

I belive 41 was my average....61 was on my back....79 was during my REM

Min SPO2 79.9%
Mean SP02 95.1%


My first visit....I was much better.....I believe he said 6/hour.....I plan to order the data software and reader to continue to monitor.....

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Permalink Reply by Mike on May 3, 2009 at 12:24am

Mary J, this is a problem: Min SPO2 79.9% I think that means your oxygen desaturation is way low. should be up in the 90s at all times, although the sleep techs, respiratory therapists and others here might have more clarification on that.

I also think this is a problem: Total Arousals 215 39.3. I read that to mean that over the course of your ~5.5 hours of sleep, you were suffocating/not getting enough air about 215 times, which works out to ~39.3 on average every hour, which means you have an AHI of almost 40, which qualifies you as having Severe Sleep Apnea (i believe anything over 30 AHI falls into that category).

Good job learning as much as you can. Given the severity of your case, and not to scare you, the quality and quantity of your life may depend on it.

Mary J said:

This is EXCELLENT infomation. Here's some data I got from my doctor yesterday. It is a reort on Sleep Architecture from my sleep study. I'd love to get your feedback on this....as I'm new and learning so much right now.
Total Recording Time 422 NREM 300 91.5 Total Sleep Time 328 min.
Sleep Efficiency 78%
Wake after Sleep Onset 65 min
Sleep Onset Latency 29 min

Total Arousals 215 39.3
PLM w Arousal 0 0
Total PLM 8 1.5

Respiratory Data

Supine Non Supine REM NREM
41 61.7 17.3 79.3 37.4

I belive 41 was my average....61 was on my back....79 was during my REM

Min SPO2 79.9%
Mean SP02 95.1%


My first visit....I was much better.....I believe he said 6/hour.....I plan to order the data software and reader to continue to monitor.....

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