Use of continuous positive airway pressure after rhinoplasty, septoplasty, and sinus surgery: A survey of current practice patterns.

OBJECTIVE To explore current practice patterns in the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) following nasal or sinus surgery. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. METHODS An electronic 24-question survey was created to evaluate surgeon practice patterns for restarting CPAP after nasal surgery. We also explored factors contributing to their decisions (1-5 Likert scale) and complications believed to be directly related to restarting CPAP. Factors with a median rating score greater than 3 out of 5 were deemed "important." Subgroup analyses were performed to assess the impact of practice setting and clinical experience. RESULTS A total of 407 physicians completed the survey (27.4% response rate for those that opened the e-mail). The majority of surgeons temporarily stop CPAP after nasal surgery, generally for 1 to 2 weeks, although the range of time is wide. There are also many surgeons who do not stop CPAP after any of these procedures and who reported that complications were fairly minimal. Severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was deemed important for all procedures. There were additional patient and surgery-specific factors considered important for each individual surgery. Subgroup analysis revealed significant differences in physician practice setting and clinical experience. CONCLUSION Regarding the use of CPAP after nasal surgery, considerable variation existed in the practice patterns of physicians. Severity of OSA was universally considered important, but the remaining factors were less consistent. A comparative study investigating the outcomes of various protocols is necessary. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE N/A.