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NCT Number: NCT06413134

KPAP Adherence Crossover Study

A device able to provide less positive airway pressure (PAP) for the entire duration of inspiration and roughly half the duration of expiration, designated KPAP, is being developed by SleepRes for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In prior studies, the administration of higher inspiratory than expiratory PAP did not substantially increase treatment efficacy or adherence to continuous PAP (CPAP), which remains low. In our recent investigation, we demonstrated that the addition of a resistor to the CPAP circuit to reduce inspiratory PAP increased subjective comfort. In another study, we showed that KPAP improved subjective comfort during wakefulness vs. fixed CPAP, while maintaining treatment efficacy. The present study, KPAP Adherence 1, is a randomized, crossover study designed to examine whether KPAP can improve adherence over APAP as an at home treatment for OSA.

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Key information

Age range

20 year–80 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Sleep Centers of Middle Tennessee

Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37129, United States

Location contact

Bernard Hete, PhD

SUB_INVESTIGATOR

Craig Salazar

CONTACT

[email protected]

615-893-4896

William H Noah, MD

SUB_INVESTIGATOR

About this study

The KPAP Adherence 1 is a randomized, crossover study in which the adherence to therapy will be compared between KPAP and standard APAP. Participants will be chosen from a pool of patients who are PAP-naïve and who have received either a PSG (in-lab polysomnogram), split-night study (in-lab PSG and pressure titration) or home sleep study (HST) within the previous 3 months.

Upon signing an informed consent, participants will be randomly assigned to start on either the KPAP (supplied by a SleepRes device) or the APAP (supplied by a ResMed device) arm when they arrive at the office. Each participant will then be given their new equipment and will be trained in proper use of the device assigned for the first treatment arm. The device will be used at home, nightly, for 4 weeks. Afterward, they will return to the office for their second visit. They will then be given the other device-along with the appropriate explanation on how to use it-that they will use on their second treatment arm. Subsequently, they will undergo a washout period of 1 week where no therapy will be used. Following the washout period, they will initiate another 4-week usage with the second therapy device. At the end of the second 4-week period, participants will return to the office for their third visit.

In both the APAP and KPAP arms, participants will have their therapy set to 5-20 cmH2O for one week. The pressure range will then be narrowed to ± 2 cmH2O around their 95% pressure level as assessed during the first week. This same pressure range will be used during the second arm for each patient.

During the KPAP arm, participants will be set to a double Comfort Setting drop according to the following scheme. This drop schedule will be implemented while the KPAP device is operating with automatic pressure adjustment.

Pset Drop 1 Drop 2 5.0 - 5.9 0 0 6.0 - 6.9 1 0 7.0 - 7.9 2 0 8.0 - 8.9 2 1 9.0 - 9.9 2 2 10.0 - 20.0 2 3

Phone calls to encourage use and assess adherence and side effects will be made at different time points during both treatment arms. Subjects using the device less than an average of 5 hours per night during the first week will be contacted on a more regular basis (weekly until 5 hour per night use is achieved) to address any problems and encourage use. If participants discontinue the use of the device during the home use period, they will still be encouraged to return for all testing per protocol. If a patient refuses to come in for further testing, they will be considered a lost to follow up and excluded from efficacy analysis.

  • 1 Day Phone Call (+2 days)
  • 7 Day Phone Call (+/- 3 days)
  • 14 Day Phone Call (+/- 3 days)
  • 21 Day Phone Call (+/- 3 days) to remind participants and schedule the office visit and device return on day 28
  • Equipment Return

After each arm, the patient will return to the office for the after-treatment visit (Visit 2 and Visit 3) to record the following:

  • Adverse Event Assessment
  • PROMIS Fatigue
  • Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)
  • Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ)
  • Short Form 36 (SF36)
  • Comfort and Satisfaction, per Visual analog Scale (VAS)
  • Nightly adherence recording

Data collected from the therapy device will include the following:

  • Usage averaged over the 4-week period and nightly
  • Leak averaged over the 4-week period and nightly
  • P95 averaged over the 4-week period and nightly
  • Sleep events averaged over the 4-week period and nightly

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • AHI > 10 on a previous PSG or HST (hypopneas requiring 4% desaturation).
  • Central apneas < 25% of events
  • PLM (Periodic Limb Movements) arousal index < 15

Exclusion criteria

  • A female of child-bearing potential that is pregnant or intends to become pregnant.
  • Any unstable or severe medical condition of any organ system including congestive heart failure, COPD, renal failure, neuromuscular disease, etc., or at the discretion of the site Principal Investigator (PI).
  • Taking medication that may affect sleep, sleepiness, or alertness including hypnotics, sedatives, alerting agents, stimulants, anticonvulsants, etc.
  • The presence of any other sleep disorder (insomnia, periodic limb movement disorder, etc).
  • Prior therapy or treatment for OSA.
  • Chronic oxygen therapy.
  • Excessive alcohol consumption (>14 drinks/week).
  • The use of any illegal drug(s).
  • Any condition that in the investigator's opinion would present an unreasonable risk to the participant, or which would interfere with their participation in the study or confound study interpretation.

Treatment and study plan

KPAP

Device

TheraPAP is a novel CPAP-based therapy in which pressure is dropped as much as 5 cmH2O starting at the beginning of inspiration and extending through the end of expiration where it rises back up to the true therapy pressure for a short period. It improves comfort by providing pressure only when it is needed and maintaining it at a low level the rest of the time. Normal CPAP/APAP therapy keeps pressure at the therapy level during the entire breath cycle, except with some alternate approaches where pressure is decreased but only during the expiratory phase.

APAP

Device

Standard CPAP therapy where therapy pressure is automatically adjusted to prevent respiratory events from occurring. The TheraPAP prototype device will be used to operate in the APAP mode in addition to the TheraPAP intervention mode.

Primary outcomes

  1. Usage

    Time frame: Averaged over every night for each 4-week arm

    Number of hours for which therapy is used per night

Secondary outcomes

  1. ESS Questionnaire

    Time frame: Filled out twice, once after completion of each 4-week arm (at week 4 and at week 9)

    Epworth Sleepiness Scale - a standard questionnaire to assess sleep quality. Scoring goes from 0 to 24 and higher scores means worsening sleepiness.

  2. FOSQ-10 Questionnaire

    Time frame: Filled out twice, once after completion of each 4-week arm (at week 4 and at week 9)

    Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire - 10 - a standard questionnaire to assess sleep quality. Scoring goes from 10 to 40 and higher scores means better functional outcome.

  3. Excess Leak or Leak

    Time frame: Averaged over every night for each 4-week arm

    Excess leak is patient circuit leak in excess of the normal leak required to prevent rebreathing in a CPAP device, which exits the circuit from the exhaust valve. Examples of excess leak include mask sealing leak or mouth opening. This excess leak will be averaged per night.

  4. P95/P90

    Time frame: Averaged over every night for each 4-week arm

    Standard CPAP measurement - pressure levels that eliminate breathing obstructions for at least 90% to 95% of the sleep period

  5. AHI

    Time frame: Averaged over every night for each 4-week arm

    Apnea/Hypopnea Index - measure of the number of obstructive breathing events per hour experienced by the patient

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Bernard Hete, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

412-398-2846

Philip Tallent, MD

CONTACT

[email protected]

615-893-4896

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

SleepRes Inc.

Industry

Registry information

Official study title

A Prospective, Randomized, Crossover Study of Therapy Adherence With Kairos Positive Airway Pressure (KPAP) Compared to Automatic Adjusting Positive Airway Pressure (APAP) for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
May 14, 2024
Registry last updated
May 6, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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