Posted by Mark Biegert on April 28, 1998 at 19:02:53:

In Reply to: sleep apnea posted by cindy on April 27, 1998 at 18:33:08:

Hi Cindy,

I am not a respiratory technician (nor do I play one on TV) but I think I can help describe your CPAP setting. During your sleep study, the amount of pressure required to effectively treat your sleep apnea was determined during a process called TITRATION. Your pressure level of "10" refers to a pressure of 10 cm of H20 (water). This is the pressure that a column of water 10 cm (~4 inches) tall would generate. This is about 1% of standard atmospheric pressure (14.7 lbs per square inch). While that doesn't sound like much pressure, it can make all the difference between a good and bad night of sleep.

Your titration level was probably determined using a machine that determines your required pressure level automatically. For a discussion of that process, see

http://www.resmed.com/clinical/autoset.htm

It is a bit technical, but it describes the way one machine works.

When you refer to waking up 121 times per hour, that is most likely your Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI). This is a common measure of the severity of a patient sleep apnea. For a good description of what constitutes severe sleep apnea and some definitions of commonly used terms, see

http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/anaes/lectures/Sleep_Apnoea.html

You mentioned your oxygen level dropping to 89%. This is your oxygen saturation or SaO2 level. For a couple of web sites that talk about this value, see

http://www.commandpost.com/pulseox.html
http://gasbone.herston.uq.edu.au/teach/su602/docs/d19_3pox.html

Good luck on your treatment.

Mark

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