General nomenclature of air leak patterns: A proposal

Leakage is a common issue with PAP therapy and may contribute to short-term non-compliance with treatment. PAP manufacturers use different methods to estimate and report air leaks (median, mean, p90, p95, % of important air leak, time spent on major leaks), which makes the analysis and comparisons challenging. Leak intensity is a well-known parameter of major importance as it can significantly affect the performance of PAP devices. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding another leakage parameter, namely the leakage pattern. As of now, there is no standard classification for leak patterns in real-life settings. Our objective was to develop and propose a comprehensive nomenclature for leakage patterns observed during nasal auto-PAP therapy.