If AHI = 0.0 does one care about the leak rate ?

[Physician]

If one's AHI is very low to 0.0, should one care about the leak rate, even if the leak is 20/min. ?

[Mary Z]

How do you feel? My doc has always been satisfied (with a quattro FFM) with a leak under 0.4ml/sec.

Sounds like you're doing good work.
Congratulations.

[LoQ]

20 what's per minute? And yes, the leak rate DOES matter. If it's too high, my guess is that the machine may not be able to detect every event.


Mary, surely you mean 0.4 liters/sec, not ml/sec.

[Kevin G.]

The leak rate is a metric and may help you to identify ways to improve your treatment.

Suggest that what is important is how do you feel. If the quality of sleep as you perceive it varies with the leak rate then use it to focus your efforts. If you feel good and variations in the leak rate do not have an imact on your perception of sleep quality then who cares.

Your primary objective is the quality of your sleep not the leak rate.

[Physician]

The leak rate is a metric and may help you to identify ways to improve your treatment.

Suggest that what is important is how do you feel. If the quality of sleep as you perceive it varies with the leak rate then use it to focus your efforts. If you feel good and variations in the leak rate do not have an imact on your perception of sleep quality then who cares.

Your primary objective is the quality of your sleep not the leak rate.

Oh I feel absolutely super, and my AHI is always 0.0 to 0.1.

[Mary Z]

If you feel terrific, and your doctor is satisfied with your leak rate (yes, those metrics always mess me up) sounds like you're doing ok.

[Guest]

If one's AHI is very low to 0.0, should one care about the leak rate, even if the leak is 20/min. ?

Physician,

Under normal circumstances that should be correct. But, ...

The fillowing happened to me which came as a bit of a surprise and changed my ideas about 0 AHI & high leaking.
Was having similar results for a few days (around 0.2 - 0.4 AHI) and *but* high leakrate - and on a Bipap Auto SV machine
which has its SV algorithm to adjust pressure. The data from the machine looked good. I was happy, except over the
following days I was getting incresingly tiered & sleepy at work. I ended up replacing my mask & eliminated the leaks
then daytime tierdness went away & all was fine again. But, apart from the leak data showing very high leaking all
else 'seemed' good.

That experience lft me believing that leaks were just not good & the data may not match your daytime experience of
well being.

Good luck

DSM

[Goofproof]

If the leak rate isn't under control, nothing is under control. The data can be incorrect with a high leak rate. Jim

[djr1215]

I have a Hybrid (Innomed)). I don't feel any leaks, but my PR System 1 consistently says I have leaks around 37-45. Is it counting the "passive exhalation port flow" as leak? (at my pressure of 14, the PEPF should be around 45) Or do I need to try to find the other leaks? No large leaks detected, and my AHI is normally well under 5. Strangely enough, the lower my leak rate goes, the higher my AHI is.

[dtsm]

In my particular case, there's almost a 'perverted inverse' relationship btw leaks and Ai. When I get a higher leak #, say around .25, my Ai are usually below 1.5; when i get lower leak #, say btw .15 to .20, my Ai jumps to 2.5 area. Fortunately both my leak & Ai numbers are within acceptable ranges so I don't lose much sleep thinking about it

[DoriC]

That's been my observation also. My husband's leak rate for his pressure should be around 40 lpm(that includes the exhaust) but he does better with a little higher LR(42-44) which gives him a lower AHI and he feels more rested. With a flat leak line his AHI is always higher and he feels sleepy. It was explained to me that some people do better with a little more air flow circulating in their mask. Of course you have to watch for Large Leaks as they can make the data invalid.

[sepool]

The machines have a limit to how much leak for which they can compensate by increasing flow rate. On my machine, that is reported as Large Leak.

However, I think too many leaks can be irritating to our sleep, no matter the AHI, it wakes me up.

[rested gal]

I have a Hybrid (Innomed)). I don't feel any leaks, but my PR System 1 consistently says I have leaks around 37-45. Is it counting the "passive exhalation port flow" as leak? (at my pressure of 14, the PEPF should be around 45)

Yes, the Respironics (and Philips Respironics) machines count the air flow that escapes, as it should, out through the mask vent. That normal "leak" (passive exhalation port flow) counts in the leak rate number. Sounds like you're doing fine leakwise, djr.

[djr1215]

I have a Hybrid (Innomed)). I don't feel any leaks, but my PR System 1 consistently says I have leaks around 37-45. Is it counting the "passive exhalation port flow" as leak? (at my pressure of 14, the PEPF should be around 45)

Yes, the Respironics (and Philips Respironics) machines count the air flow that escapes, as it should, out through the mask vent. That normal "leak" (passive exhalation port flow) counts in the leak rate number. Sounds like you're doing fine leakwise, djr.

Thanks. I sort of thought that was the case but wanted to check. My AHI is going up a bit, though still under 5 most of the time so I'm trying to figure out why.
Donna