Realistic Leak Goal

Hello all-
I am still a newbie and learning, so I am grateful for any help and info I receive! I know that I should aim for a leak rate of 0.0L/s, however I have also read that anything under .4L/s is considered acceptable for my machine/mask. I have also learned, from terrific people on this forum, that I should get my leak rate under control before trying to interpret my AHI or AI numbers, as they aren't to reliable with higher leak rates. For the past few nights my leak rate has been around .24L/s - .26L/s, which is under the "acceptable" threshold, but far from zero. I did have a 0.0 night once, but haven't been able to do it again. My question is, should I keep worrying about getting that leak down and closer to zero, making more mask changes, etc., or should I accept that level of leak?
Also, I have read so much in the archives on this board about how Resmed machines tend to score hypopneas higher than other machines and I understand that some people mentally cut their AHI number in half and add it to their AI number. Last night, my AHI was 10.8 but my AI was only 0.6. (Again, can I trust those numbers given that my leak wasn't 0.0???) I am interested in how many of you would cut that AHI in half, and how many of you would use the number as it is?
Thanks.

Attempting to get the leak to "0" would not be realistic; CPAP masks have what they call an intentional leak - the expired air has to go somewhere. As long as your leak is under the acceptable intentional leak then you are getting the proper pressure from the CPAP.

Good Luck

Don't cut the AHI or AI in half. You can cut the HI (hypopnea index) in half and add it to the AI to get your AHI. Resmed machines are known to grade HI differently resulting in higher HI numbers than other machines. Cutting the HI in half results in an AHI closer to what you would get with any other machine.
Last night;
AHI 10.8
AI 0.6
HI 10.2
cut HI in half=5.1
AHI=5.7

You want to try for under 5

Your machine can compensate for leaks under .4 L/s but you want to keep that leak as low as possible. Many of us get 0.0 leaks.

Brenda

Thanks for the explanation, Brenda! That makes more sense! I appreciate it.

When a ResMed has the correct (ResMed) mask type set, it will give zero leak rates.
Unlike other machines, ResMed machine subtract the intentional leak rate from what the report.

Should people aim for leak rate of zero on a ReaMed? I'm not sure.
Can some people achieve a lear rate of zero? Absolutely.

I get the rare night of 0 Leaks, but most nights it is under .1 liters/second. At this leak rate, I haven't seen any correlation between leak and AHI, so my xpap is compensating. But I do find I sleep better, with lower leak rates.

My card reader on back order still so can't see the graphs. I'm on 7.8-12 apap range for now.

I get up 1-2 times at night still so peek at the numbers (yea, call me crazy). What I've noticed is my numbers are great from time I go to bed till the first wake up (btw 2 am to 3 am). AHI around 6, Ai almost zero, Hi ok and leakage almost 0. But from 3 am to 5-6 am shift, numbers go south, higher pressure, more leakage, higher AHI, Ai and Hi.

On average my leakage is <0.2 but this past week at higher pressure, has increased to 0.3 to 0.4 range.

My machine doesn't give me a specific HI number, just AHI and AI. Am I correct that subtracting my AI from the AHI leaves me with the HI?

melissa1974 wrote:My machine doesn't give me a specific HI number, just AHI and AI. Am I correct that subtracting my AI from the AHI leaves me with the HI?

Yep.