Five-Minute Awake Snoring Test for Determining CPAP Pressures (Five-Minute CPAP Test): A Pilot Study

Table 1

A protocol for performing the Five-Minute CPAP Test and determining the Quiet Pressure.

(1) The patient is asked to make a simulated snoring sound in the upright and then in the supine positions (if they cannot, then they are not good candidates for this test).
(2) The nasal triangle soft-gel mask is applied.
(3) A tongue blade is placed between the upper and lower teeth.
(4) Fixed pressure CPAP is applied at 4 cm of water pressure (cwp).
(5) The patient takes 3 breaths at 4 cwp and then simulates snoring.
(6) If the patient can snore, then increase the pressure by 2 cwp.
(7) The patient takes 3 breaths at the new setting and then simulates snoring.
(8) If the patient can snore, then this process is repeated over and over by increasing (incrementally) the pressure by 2 cwp until they cannot simulate snoring (they are quiet).
(9) The pressure is decreased by 1 cwp, the patient takes 3 breaths and then simulates snoring. If the patient can snore, then the pressure is increased by 1 cwp.
(10) Once the lowest pressure at which the patient cannot snore is determined, this pressure is defined as the “Quiet Pressure.”