Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a chronic respiratory disease. A person suffering from OSA faces sleep related problems. In this disease, there is a decrease or complete halt in airflow despite an ongoing effort to breathe during sleeping. Patients with OSA suffer from an abnormal flow of air into the lungs. The obstruction in airflow is caused by the collapse of the soft tissues in the back of the throat. This combined with the collapse of the upper airway and tongue during sleep causes difficulty in breathing. The prevalence and risk factors of OSA can mainly be seen in the semi-urban Indian population. Researchers indicated that 13% of the urban Indians suffer from OSA.

Acetazolamide, medroxyprogesterone, fluoxetine, and protriptyline are the most common drugs used for treating OSA. However, in the combination of these drugs positive airway pressure therapy is an effective technique. A positive airway pressure machine works by gently blowing pressurized room air through the airway at a pressure high enough to keep the throat open and acts as a sort of splint. However, reports indicate that the combination of drugs amikacin, zolpidem, fluoxetine and airway pressure therapy is highly impactful in treating OSA. This combination therapy effectively reduces subjective sleepiness, apneic and hypopneic events, and other OSA associated diseases like arrhythmias. Thus, drugs used with a combination of positive airway pressure therapy in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea are highly effective and efficient.