What are problem leaks?

I have noticed a base line of about 18-20 in my leak data. I have a loner right now, and my tech has not commented on my leak data at all. My percent in large leak is basically 0 and average time per large leak is about 20 sec. I am pretty sure I am not breathing through my mount (not dry) and I think the data is showing me the same leak rates even when sitting watching TV getting used to my nasal pillows. I know the mask is brand new, but the hose and pr1 are loners and so who knows how old they are. I am assuming at this point my leaks are inherent to the system my DME loned me, rather than a mask problem or mouth breathing. Sound like a good assumption?

When you program a Resmed machine you enter the kind of mask that you are using such as: Full Face, Nasal, Pillows, etc. The machine then deducts the intentional leak of that mask and reports to you the unintentional leak. It must be below 24 L/min, otherwise, the machine can't diagnose events. Respironics machines use a different approach, they report to you the Total Leak = intentional leak thru the mask vent holes plus the unintentional leaks that occur everywhere else. So in this case you need to deduct your mask intentional leak from this sum. You can find the intentional leak of your mask over the Internet.

Because you have not registered and entered your hardware it's impossible to guess what you're talking about.

bavinck wrote:I have noticed a base line of about 18-20 in my leak data

bavinck wrote:pr1 are loners

You are using PR S1 Respironics machine and it reports total leaks. Total leak numbers include the mask's intended vent/intentional leak rate plus any excess leaks. With the PR S1 we won't see 0.0 leak because even with zero excess leak we would always have the intentional leak rate.
All masks have an intentional leak/vent rate...normally shown on a graph included in the mask paperwork.
Each mask will have a different vent rate and that rate also varies with pressures used.
More pressure equals more vent rate. Nasal pillow masks will have the lowest vent rates and full face masks will have the highest.
See this graph
http://www.resmed.com/us/assets/documen ... sa_eng.pdf

ResMed users sometimes forget that their machine subtracts the intentional leak prior to reporting leaks and when they see a Respironics report the think OMG...big leak.
Respironics users see their bigger numbers and try to compare to a ResMed user's report and think.. OMG...big leak
Both are incorrect assumptions because we aren't comparing like values. Apples and oranges here.

Respironics do not ever tell use exactly where large leak territory begins but past experience points to it being a variable based on the baseline leak value and pressures used and also the model mask & machine used.
At your pressure and your machine large leak territory is likely going to be upwards of 80 to 90 L/min. I am not surprised you never see a large leak flag. It takes a lot of leak to earn a large leak flag on a Respironics machine.

Now any leak that wakes a person up is of course unwanted..even if it is a relatively small leak but unwanted because it is disturbing sleep and not because it is much of a negative impact on therapy itself.

Based on what you are saying about your leak numbers and the fact you are using a PR S1 machine....I just imagine that your leak line is pretty boring and flat most of the time..maybe a few little spikes but nothing exciting and certainly nothing to worry about unless the leaks are waking you up and that's a different problem.

Wow, great responses. Thanks! Yep, leak graph is boring except a few spikes here and there. I will look at what leak rate for swift fx pillows at 8 are...

That PDF link was excellent, says expected leak rate of 29 for my mask/pressure. My pr1 reported leak looks consistently below this, average leak around 25 so I guess this means I have a good seal all night. Thanks again for an amazingly detailed answer!!