Clinical outcome of 1-year long-term oxygen therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Background Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is a well-established treatment that shows definite survival benefit in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) associated with severe hypoxemia. Objective A randomized, prospective, analytic case study was done to evaluate the effect of LTOT in patients with COPD associated with severe hypoxemia. Patients and methods Forty-eight patients with COPD with severe hypoxemia randomly selected from patients admitted at Chest department at Assuit University Hospital were enrolled in this study. Pulmonary function test, 6-min walk test, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire, arterial blood gases, BMI and periodic maintenance were assessed in all patients. Results Significant improvement in oxygen tension and oxygen saturation was detected after 6 months of use of LTOT in the studied patients. Oxygen saturation (SO2) during 6-min walk test showed statistically significant improvement after 6-month follow-up. Marked reduction in the number of exacerbation and subsequently number of hospitalization as well was observed. Patients reported significant improvement in all components of St George’s quality-of-life questionnaire, activity, effects, symptoms, and total score. Survival outcome of the patients after 1-year follow-up was 87%. Conclusion LTOT significantly improves survival among patients with COPD, as it decreases the number of hospitalization and improves the quality of life among these patients.