A Comparative Effectiveness Study of Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) Therapy, Dental Device, and Atomoxetine-Oxybutynin for Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults

Summary

Researchers want to identify which treatments for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) work best and are easiest for patients to use consistently. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned one of three OSA treatments: traditional PAP therapy, a dental device, or a combination of two FDA-approved medications (atomoxetine and oxybutynin) that are currently approved for other conditions. Over the course of one year, participants will attend two in-person visits and take part in four phone check-ins to complete surveys, report any side effects, and discuss how well they are following their assigned treatment.

Timeline

Start

2026-09-01

Primary completion

2030-03-01

Completion

2032-05-01

Publications

• Background Aishah A, Loffler KA, Toson B, Mukherjee S, Adams RJ, Altree TJ, Ainge-Allen HW, Yee BJ, Grunstein RR, Carberry JC, Eckert DJ. One Month Dosing of Atomoxetine plus Oxybutynin in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trial. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2023 Apr;20(4):584-595. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202206-492OC.
• Background Taranto-Montemurro L, Messineo L, Sands SA, Azarbarzin A, Marques M, Edwards BA, Eckert DJ, White DP, Wellman A. The Combination of Atomoxetine and Oxybutynin Greatly Reduces Obstructive Sleep Apnea Severity. A Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-Blind Crossover Trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019 May 15;199(10):1267-1276. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201808-1493OC.
• Background Schweitzer PK, Maynard JP, Wylie PE, Emsellem HA, Sands SA. Efficacy of atomoxetine plus oxybutynin in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea with moderate pharyngeal collapsibility. Sleep Breath. 2023 May;27(2):495-503. doi: 10.1007/s11325-022-02634-x. Epub 2022 May 13.
• Background Rosenberg R, Abaluck B, Thein S. Combination of atomoxetine with the novel antimuscarinic aroxybutynin improves mild to moderate OSA. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 Dec 1;18(12):2837-2844. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10250.
• Background Kinouchi T, Terada J, Sakao S, Koshikawa K, Sasaki T, Sugiyama A, Sato S, Sakuma N, Abe M, Shikano K, Hayama N, Shiko Y, Ozawa Y, Ikeda S, Suzuki T, Tatsumi K. Effects of the combination of atomoxetine and oxybutynin in Japanese patients with obstructive sleep apnoea: A randomized controlled crossover trial. Respirology. 2023 Mar;28(3):273-280. doi: 10.1111/resp.14383. Epub 2022 Oct 2.
• Background Chen TY, Chung CH, Chang HA, Kao YC, Chang SY, Kuo TBJ, Yang CCH, Chien WC, Tzeng NS. Long-term atomoxetine-oxybutynin combination use may be beneficial for the prevention of obstructive sleep apnea. Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 15;11(1):12526. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91988-5.
• Background Schwartz M, Acosta L, Hung YL, Padilla M, Enciso R. Effects of CPAP and mandibular advancement device treatment in obstructive sleep apnea patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Breath. 2018 Sep;22(3):555-568. doi: 10.1007/s11325-017-1590-6. Epub 2017 Nov 11.
• Background Ramar K, Dort LC, Katz SG, Lettieri CJ, Harrod CG, Thomas SM, Chervin RD. Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring with Oral Appliance Therapy: An Update for 2015. J Clin Sleep Med. 2015 Jul 15;11(7):773-827. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.4858.
• Background Chan AS, Lee RW, Cistulli PA. Dental appliance treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Chest. 2007 Aug;132(2):693-9. doi: 10.1378/chest.06-2038.
• Background Marin JM, Carrizo SJ, Vicente E, Agusti AG. Long-term cardiovascular outcomes in men with obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea with or without treatment with continuous positive airway pressure: an observational study. Lancet. 2005 Mar 19-25;365(9464):1046-53. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71141-7.
• Background Martinez-Garcia MA, Campos-Rodriguez F, Catalan-Serra P, Soler-Cataluna JJ, Almeida-Gonzalez C, De la Cruz Moron I, Duran-Cantolla J, Montserrat JM. Cardiovascular mortality in obstructive sleep apnea in the elderly: role of long-term continuous positive airway pressure treatment: a prospective observational study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2012 Nov 1;186(9):909-16. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201203-0448OC. Epub 2012 Sep 13.
• Background Platt AB, Field SH, Asch DA, Chen Z, Patel NP, Gupta R, Roche DF, Gurubhagavatula I, Christie JD, Kuna ST. Neighborhood of residence is associated with daily adherence to CPAP therapy. Sleep. 2009 Jun;32(6):799-806. doi: 10.1093/sleep/32.6.799.
• Background Bakker JP, O'Keeffe KM, Neill AM, Campbell AJ. Ethnic disparities in CPAP adherence in New Zealand: effects of socioeconomic status, health literacy and self-efficacy. Sleep. 2011 Nov 1;34(11):1595-603. doi: 10.5665/sleep.1404.
• Background Billings ME, Auckley D, Benca R, Foldvary-Schaefer N, Iber C, Redline S, Rosen CL, Zee P, Kapur VK. Race and residential socioeconomics as predictors of CPAP adherence. Sleep. 2011 Dec 1;34(12):1653-8. doi: 10.5665/sleep.1428.
• Background McEvoy RD, Antic NA, Heeley E, Luo Y, Ou Q, Zhang X, Mediano O, Chen R, Drager LF, Liu Z, Chen G, Du B, McArdle N, Mukherjee S, Tripathi M, Billot L, Li Q, Lorenzi-Filho G, Barbe F, Redline S, Wang J, Arima H, Neal B, White DP, Grunstein RR, Zhong N, Anderson CS; SAVE Investigators and Coordinators. CPAP for Prevention of Cardiovascular Events in Obstructive Sleep Apnea. N Engl J Med. 2016 Sep 8;375(10):919-31. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1606599. Epub 2016 Aug 28.
• Background Redline S, Yenokyan G, Gottlieb DJ, Shahar E, O'Connor GT, Resnick HE, Diener-West M, Sanders MH, Wolf PA, Geraghty EM, Ali T, Lebowitz M, Punjabi NM. Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea and incident stroke: the sleep heart health study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2010 Jul 15;182(2):269-77. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200911-1746OC. Epub 2010 Mar 25.
• Background Mulgrew AT, Nasvadi G, Butt A, Cheema R, Fox N, Fleetham JA, Ryan CF, Cooper P, Ayas NT. Risk and severity of motor vehicle crashes in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea. Thorax. 2008 Jun;63(6):536-41. doi: 10.1136/thx.2007.085464. Epub 2008 Jan 30.
• Background Teran-Santos J, Jimenez-Gomez A, Cordero-Guevara J. The association between sleep apnea and the risk of traffic accidents. Cooperative Group Burgos-Santander. N Engl J Med. 1999 Mar 18;340(11):847-51. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199903183401104.
• Background Gami AS, Howard DE, Olson EJ, Somers VK. Day-night pattern of sudden death in obstructive sleep apnea. N Engl J Med. 2005 Mar 24;352(12):1206-14. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa041832.
• Background Punjabi NM, Caffo BS, Goodwin JL, Gottlieb DJ, Newman AB, O'Connor GT, Rapoport DM, Redline S, Resnick HE, Robbins JA, Shahar E, Unruh ML, Samet JM. Sleep-disordered breathing and mortality: a prospective cohort study. PLoS Med. 2009 Aug;6(8):e1000132. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000132. Epub 2009 Aug 18.
• Background Weaver TE. Outcome measurement in sleep medicine practice and research. Part 1: assessment of symptoms, subjective and objective daytime sleepiness, health-related quality of life and functional status. Sleep Med Rev. 2001 Apr;5(2):103-128. doi: 10.1053/smrv.2001.0152.
• Background Yaggi HK, Concato J, Kernan WN, Lichtman JH, Brass LM, Mohsenin V. Obstructive sleep apnea as a risk factor for stroke and death. N Engl J Med. 2005 Nov 10;353(19):2034-41. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa043104.
• Background Yumino D, Wang H, Floras JS, Newton GE, Mak S, Ruttanaumpawan P, Parker JD, Bradley TD. Relationship between sleep apnoea and mortality in patients with ischaemic heart failure. Heart. 2009 May;95(10):819-24. doi: 10.1136/hrt.2008.160952. Epub 2009 Jan 8.
• Background Leung RS, Bradley TD. Sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001 Dec 15;164(12):2147-65. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.164.12.2107045. No abstract available.
• Background Peker Y, Carlson J, Hedner J. Increased incidence of coronary artery disease in sleep apnoea: a long-term follow-up. Eur Respir J. 2006 Sep;28(3):596-602. doi: 10.1183/09031936.06.00107805. Epub 2006 Apr 26.
• Background Nieto FJ, Young TB, Lind BK, Shahar E, Samet JM, Redline S, D'Agostino RB, Newman AB, Lebowitz MD, Pickering TG. Association of sleep-disordered breathing, sleep apnea, and hypertension in a large community-based study. Sleep Heart Health Study. JAMA. 2000 Apr 12;283(14):1829-36. doi: 10.1001/jama.283.14.1829.
• Background Peppard PE, Young T, Palta M, Skatrud J. Prospective study of the association between sleep-disordered breathing and hypertension. N Engl J Med. 2000 May 11;342(19):1378-84. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200005113421901.
• Background Marin JM, Agusti A, Villar I, Forner M, Nieto D, Carrizo SJ, Barbe F, Vicente E, Wei Y, Nieto FJ, Jelic S. Association between treated and untreated obstructive sleep apnea and risk of hypertension. JAMA. 2012 May 23;307(20):2169-76. doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.3418.
• Background Punjabi NM. The epidemiology of adult obstructive sleep apnea. Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2008 Feb 15;5(2):136-43. doi: 10.1513/pats.200709-155MG.
• Background May AM, Patel SR, Yamauchi M, Verma TK, Weaver TE, Chai-Coetzer CL, Thornton JD, Ewart G, Showers T, Ayas NT, Parthasarathy S, Mehra R, Billings ME. Moving toward Equitable Care for Sleep Apnea in the United States: Positive Airway Pressure Adherence Thresholds: An Official American Thoracic Society Policy Statement. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Feb 1;207(3):244-254. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202210-1846ST.
• Background Weaver TE, Grunstein RR. Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure therapy: the challenge to effective treatment. Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2008 Feb 15;5(2):173-8. doi: 10.1513/pats.200708-119MG.

Drugs

Indications