CPAP vs High-Flow Nasal Cannula for Treating Sleep Apnea in Children

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

High Flow Nasal Cannula: High-Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) therapy delivers warmed, humidified air at high flow rates through soft nasal prongs during sleep to support upper airway patency in children with obstructive sleep apnea. The therapy is used nightly at home, with flow settings optimized according to standard clinical care and overnight sleep study titration.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy delivers pressurized air through a nasal or oronasal mask worn during sleep to maintain upper airway patency and treat obstructive sleep apnea. CPAP therapy is used nightly at home, with pressure settings optimized according to standard clinical care and overnight sleep study titration.

Study summary

This study is looking at two different treatments for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children. OSA is a sleep condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, which can affect a child's health, behavior, learning, and quality of life.

Children with moderate-to-severe OSA who cannot be treated with surgery are often prescribed Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). CPAP uses a mask worn during sleep to deliver pressurized air and keep the airway open. Although CPAP is effective, many children have difficulty using it regularly because it can feel uncomfortable or hard to tolerate.

This study compares CPAP with another treatment called High-Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC). HFNC delivers warm, humidified air through soft nasal prongs and may be more comfortable and easier for children to use while still helping keep the airway open during sleep.

Children aged 2 to 18 years with moderate-to-severe OSA will be randomly assigned to use either CPAP or HFNC at home during sleep for 3 months. The study will measure how much each treatment is used, how well it improves sleep-related symptoms and quality of life, how comfortable it is for children, and how it affects caregivers.

The goal of this study is to find out whether HFNC is a comfortable and effective alternative to CPAP for treating obstructive sleep apnea in children.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Adherence — 3 months
  Adherence is defined as the average number of hours and minutes of CPAP or High-Flow Nasal Cannula use per night, obtained from objective device-generated data over the intervention period.

Trial sites (1)

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