Aims and objectives. According to the national multicentric cross-sectional survey conducted in 2019 in France, 1449 children were treated with long term continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or noninvasive ventilation (NIV).

Methods. As the prescription of CPAP/NIV is increasing in children with obesity and OSA (OSA-II) and in otherwise healthy children with OSA (OSA-I), we performed a sub-analysis of this survey.

Results. OSA-II patients (n=144, 10% of the national cohort, 72% males) were older at CPAP/NIV initiation (median age 11.8 vs 6.4 years old, p<0.001) and were treated for a longer time (1.5 vs 0.8 years, p=0.008) with CPAP/NIV than OSA-I patients (n=84, 6% of the national cohort, 71% males). OSA-II patients were treated with NIV as often as OSA-I patients (13% vs 6%, p=0.142), and there was no difference in objective compliance (median 7h/night, p=0.054). Greater EPAP level was used for OSA-II as compared to OSA-I patients (8 vs 7 cmH2O, p=0.019). Nasal mask was the most used interface in both groups. In most patients, the apneas-hypopneas index (AHI) (63% vs 76%) or the AHI in association with nocturnal gas exchange parameters (25% vs 21%) were used as initiation criteria of CPAP/NIV, without significant differences between OSA-II and OSA-I patients, respectively. In both groups, there was no difference between males and females for compliance and settings. Limitation of this study is the lack of some clinical and diagnostic data (body mass index, AHI values).

Conclusion. This study is one of the first to compare nation-wide data on OSA-II and OSA-I patients highlighting the rising importance of a tailored management for CPAP/NIV.