%A Al-Mutairi, Fouad %D 2018 %T Post cardiac surgery patients' experiences using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) via mask therapy to treat post-surgical atelectasis %K %X Objective Cardiac surgery procedure especially CABG is usually associated with post-surgical atelectasis. CPAP via mask therapy is one of the intervention treatments to re-open collapsed alveoli (atelectasis) after cardiac surgery. This study aims to evaluate the compliance and periodicity of CPAP via mask therapy use to treat or prevent post-surgical atelectasis after CABG. Methods Sixty two post cardiac surgery patients who used CPAP via mask therapy every two or four hours were invited to participate in this study. All the participants used CPAP machine in the first three post- cardiac surgery days during waking hours. The participants were given a questionnaire to answer before hospital discharge. The questionnaire was composed of items about the compliance, the periodicity of CPAP therapy use and the side effects of the CPAP mask used such as pain over bridge of the nose, dry mouth, allergy or teeth and gum pain. Also, the questionnaire was linked to informal open-end question to clarify the patient's history of these illnesses before the use of CPAP therapy. Result Sixty two patients participated in this study from the two difference frequency group (CPAP therapy every two or four hours) with response rate approximately 85%. Twenty seven males and three females belonged to the CPAP2hr group (ages; 58 ± 6.4 years). Twenty eight males and four females were in the CPAP4hr group (ages; 57 ± 7.2 years). All the participants started to use CPAP therapy in the first post-operative day immediately after extubation from mechanical ventilation. No one from either of the groups suffered from nose bleeding, excessive sneezing, eczema or asthma either before or after therapy. More than half of the participants (60%) complained a dry mouth after the therapy. Twenty eight participants (93%) from CPAP2hrs group reported treatment compliance from CPAP machine use and 27 participants (84%) in CPAP4hrs group. Conclusion The result showed high acceptance rate of compliance toward CPAP therapy use especially in CPAP2hrs group. %U https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/1684 %J Medical Research Archives %0 Journal Article %R 10.18103/mra.v6i2.1684 %V 6 %N 2 %@ 2375-1924 %8 2018-02-15