Nasal Appliance

The latest nasal device is PROVENT (Ventus Medical, Inc.) nasal therapy. PROVENT is one emerging alternative to the therapies currently used to treat obstructive sleep apnea. Unlike CPAP, which requires a machine to provide continuous positive airway to keep the nasal airway open during sleep, PROVENT is placed on each nostril, the device acts like a valve with a small bandage on each nostril. The valves are open when inhaling to allow for nearly unobstructive airflow, but narrows when exhaling, directing air through small air channels to limit airflow and increase expiratory pressure. PROVENT therapy relies on the patient's own breathing to keep the nasal airway open by using a device that uses nasal expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP). This pressure build up helps keep the soft tissue in the nasal cavity, and throat open assisting in air exchange. According to published data the success of the device is comparable to CPAP or oral appliance but the key question is the compliance level with the device. The current gold standard treatment is CPAP, but data indicate that up to 50% of patients are not successfully treated with these methods mostly due to lack of compliance.