We have located links that may give you full text access.
Reduction in motor vehicle collisions following treatment of sleep apnoea with nasal CPAP.
Thorax 2001 July
BACKGROUND: Patients with untreated obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) have increased motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). When successfully treated, they report improved driving and fewer mishaps, but there are few objective data to confirm this. A study was therefore undertaken to examine actual MVC data in a large group of patients with OSA before and after treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) compared with a control group matched for age, sex, and type of driver's licence (commercial or non-commercial).
METHODS: Two hundred and ten patients of mean (SD) age 52 (11) years, body mass index (BMI) 35.5 (10) kg/m(2), apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) 54 (29) events/h were treated with CPAP for at least 3 years. MVC records were obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) database for patients and an equal number of randomly selected control drivers. MVC rates were compared for 3 years before and after CPAP therapy for patients and for the corresponding time frames for controls.
RESULTS: Untreated patients with OSA had more MVCs than controls (mean (SD) MVCs/driver/year 0.18 (0.29) v 0.06 (0.17), p<0.001). Following CPAP treatment the number of MVCs/driver/year fell to normal (0.06 (0.17)) while, in controls, the MVC rate was unchanged over time (0.06 (0.17) v 0.07 (0.18), p=NS). Thus, the change in MVCs over time between the groups was very significant (change = -0.12 (95% CI -0.17 to -0.06), p<0.001)). The MVC rate in untreated patients (n=27) remained high over time. Driving exposure was not different following CPAP.
CONCLUSIONS: The risk of MVCs due to OSA is removed when patients are treated with CPAP. As such, any restrictions on driving because of OSA could be safely removed after treatment.
METHODS: Two hundred and ten patients of mean (SD) age 52 (11) years, body mass index (BMI) 35.5 (10) kg/m(2), apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) 54 (29) events/h were treated with CPAP for at least 3 years. MVC records were obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) database for patients and an equal number of randomly selected control drivers. MVC rates were compared for 3 years before and after CPAP therapy for patients and for the corresponding time frames for controls.
RESULTS: Untreated patients with OSA had more MVCs than controls (mean (SD) MVCs/driver/year 0.18 (0.29) v 0.06 (0.17), p<0.001). Following CPAP treatment the number of MVCs/driver/year fell to normal (0.06 (0.17)) while, in controls, the MVC rate was unchanged over time (0.06 (0.17) v 0.07 (0.18), p=NS). Thus, the change in MVCs over time between the groups was very significant (change = -0.12 (95% CI -0.17 to -0.06), p<0.001)). The MVC rate in untreated patients (n=27) remained high over time. Driving exposure was not different following CPAP.
CONCLUSIONS: The risk of MVCs due to OSA is removed when patients are treated with CPAP. As such, any restrictions on driving because of OSA could be safely removed after treatment.
Full text links
Related Resources
Trending Papers
Challenges in Septic Shock: From New Hemodynamics to Blood Purification Therapies.Journal of Personalized Medicine 2024 Februrary 4
Molecular Targets of Novel Therapeutics for Diabetic Kidney Disease: A New Era of Nephroprotection.International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2024 April 4
Perioperative echocardiographic strain analysis: what anesthesiologists should know.Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia 2024 April 11
The 'Ten Commandments' for the 2023 European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of endocarditis.European Heart Journal 2024 April 18
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app