Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on positive airway pressure adherence and patients’ perspectives in Greece: the role of telemedicine

Abstract

Study Objectives: To analyze the impact of national lockdowns in Greece on positive airway pressure adherence, patients’ perspectives regarding COVID-19 pandemic and the role of telemedicine. Methods: 872 obstructive sleep apnea patients from southern and 673 from northern Greece, under positive airway pressure treatment, were evaluated with adherence data available 12 months prior to and 3 months after the first and second lockdown. Telemedicine, locally available as part of a research protocol, was used for patient’s follow-up in southern Greece and standard follow-up procedures were implemented in northern Greece. We analyzed the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on positive airway pressure adherence and patients’ concerns regarding COVID-19 infection. Results: Significant difference was noted in positive airway pressure adherence as measured by the hours of use at 12 months prior to and at the 3 months after the first lockdown in southern (5.6 vs 6.6, P = .003) and northern Greece (5.3 vs 6.0, P = .03). The proportion of patients with optimal adherence (≥ 6 hours) increased by 18% (P = .004) in southern and by 9% (P = .20) in northern Greece after the first lockdown and remained steady after the second lockdown in both groups. In southern Greece, 23% of patients reported that they were concerned about getting COVID-19 due to obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis, while only 3% reported decreased sleep duration. Moreover, 9% were concerned that the presence of obstructive sleep apnea would make them more susceptible for worse outcome in case of COVID-19 infection. Conclusions: Our results suggest that maintaining follow-up using telemedicine had a positive influence pointing out the potential role of digital health.