Stroke and CPAP Outcome Study: A Sham-controlled Trial of CPAP Among Stroke Rehabilitation Patients

All acute stroke patients admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation service at the University of Washington were invited to participate in the study. Given the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in this population, no screen for OSA was performed. Enrolled patients were assigned randomly to active-CPAP with auto-titrating pressures or to sham-CPAP with an otherwise identical device but with pressures ≤ 1 cm water. Subjects used active or sham-CPAP for the duration of inpatient rehabilitation, but no longer than 28 days. CPAP compliance was assessed by memory card that recorded mask-on time. Other information on download, such as apnea-hypopnea index, was only available on active-CPAP and not assessed by investigators in real time. In this study, the investigators defined tolerance as any continued use of CPAP at night and adherence as mean hours of CPAP use per night in those who were CPAP tolerant.