ABSTRACT
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy was first described in 1981 by Sullivan in a cohort of five patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).1 Since then it has become the backbone of therapy in OSAS. Intermittent pharyngeal obstruction is the major pathogenetic mechanism in OSAS and CPAP therapy prevents this by acting as a ‘pneumatic splint’, thus maintaining a patent airway throughout the respiratory cycle.
