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Novel physIologiC prEdictors of Positive Airway Pressure Effectiveness

Novel physIologiC prEdictors of Positive Airway Pressure Effectiveness: NICEPAP Study Prospective Cohort

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05067088
Acronym
NICEPAP
Enrollment
262
Registered
2021-10-05
Start date
2022-01-01
Completion date
2026-05-01
Last updated
2026-08-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Keywords

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), Physiologic sleep apnea traits (endotypes), CPAP adherence, CPAP efficacy, Patient-centered sleep apnea outcomes, Precision medicine, Arousal threshold, Loop gain, Pharyngeal collapsibility, Pharyngeal muscle compensation

Brief summary

Millions of Americans suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, strokes and motor vehicle accidents due to ineffective treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Our preliminary data suggest that physiological causes of OSA such as easy arousability (low arousal threshold) or unstable breathing control (high loop gain) may influence effectiveness of OSA's most common treatment, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The NICE-PAP study will examine how the physiologic traits that cause OSA in each individual impact CPAP effectiveness and can lead to personalized OSA treatments that improve patient lives.

Detailed description

Most patients with OSA who are prescribed the gold-standard therapy, CPAP, are ineffectively treated. This is due to 1) poor CPAP adherence, 2) high residual apnea in 20% of users (low efficacy) and 3) inconsistent symptom improvement. To improve CPAP effectiveness, we propose to address novel physiologic targets that cause OSA in each individual: arousability (arousal threshold), ventilatory control sensitivity (loop gain) and pharyngeal muscle compensation. Our overall objective is to determine the contribution of these traits to CPAP effectiveness independently of established biological, psychological and social predictors. This study leverages state-of-the art sleep study analysis tools and validated measures of the determinants of CPAP effectiveness to create a pragmatic, prospective cohort (n=267) of OSA patients. This unique dataset will help determine whether physiologic causes of OSA influence CPAP adherence, efficacy, sleep quality, symptoms, function and quality of life. The results will inform design and conduct of a randomized clinical trial designed to modify physiologic traits such as easy arousability to improve CPAP effectiveness and other patient-centered outcomes in OSA patients.

Interventions

OTHERCPAP (all patients receive CPAP as part of routine clinical care)

Continuous positive airway pressure

Sponsors

Yale University
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
19 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Age of \>18 years 2. Newly diagnosed OSA naïve to CPAP 3. Apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ≥5/hr on in-laboratory polysomnography or home sleep test acquired and scored using standard criteria(59) 4. Referred for CPAP adherence management at Yale New Haven Hospital Sleep Center

Exclusion criteria

1. Need for supplemental oxygen 2. Central apnea index comprising \>50% of the AHI 3. Treatment recommendation with another modality (e.g., Bilevel PAP, Adaptive Servo-Ventilation, Automatic Volume Pressure Assured Pressure Support) 4. A referral for a sleep disorder other than OSA (i.e., narcolepsy, sleep related movement disorder, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder) 5. Prior CPAP or Auto-CPAP use over the past 3 years 6. Unstable medical or mental health condition (e.g., decompensated heart failure, end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, end stage renal disease, psychosis) 7. Inability to participate in the informed consent process (e.g., cognitive impairment) 8. Pregnancy 9. Non-English language use as only means of communication (because the research budget does not provide adequate resources to ensure that the needs of non-English speaking patients can be adequately addressed)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
CPAP adherence6 monthsaverage daily CPAP use (hours/night)
CPAP efficacy6 monthsaverage daily residual apnea hypopnea index on CPAP (events/hour)
OSA related quality of life measured by Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ) short form6 monthsFOSQ short form average scores, Range 0 - 5, higher scores reflect worse quality of life and function.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
CPAP adherence (dichotomous)3 monthsdichotomized measure of \>4 hours/night for \>70% of nights
CPAP adherence1 monthaverage daily CPAP use (hours/night)
CPAP efficacy (dichotomous)6 monthsresidual AHI \>=10/hour
Sleep quality: Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scores6 monthsPROMIS scores, Range 0 - 40, higher scores reflect worse quality
Sleep related impairment: Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scores6 monthsPROMIS - impairment scores, range 0 - 40, higher scores reflect greater impairment
Insomnia: Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)6 monthsISI scores, Range 0 - 28; higher scores reflect higher insomnia burden/severity
Epworth sleepiness scale6 monthsEpworth sleepiness scale scores, Range 0 - 24; higher scores signify greater sleepiness
Anxiety: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Anxiety subscale scores6 monthsHospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Anxiety subscale scores range 0 - 21; higher scores signify greater anxiety symptoms
Depression: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Depression subscale scores6 monthsHospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Depression subscale scores, Range 0 - 21; higher scores signify greater depression symptoms
Attention6 monthsmedian reaction time and mean slowest 10% reaction time from a 5-min smartphone-based psychomotor vigilance test.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORAndrey Zinchuk, MD, MHS

Yale University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 4, 2026