P133 Integrating ambulatory oxygen assessments into a specialist interstitial lung disease (ILD) clinic

Abstract

Introduction Ambulatory oxygen (AO) increases walking distance, reduces exertional breathlessness and has been shown to improve quality of life in patients with exertional desaturation.1Patients with ILD often have a high burden of hospital appointments. In response to patient feedback we trialled co-locating AO assessment alongside the specialist ILD clinic rather than at separate AO assessment. Method Patient experience and service data was collected prospectively for all patients referred for AO assessment over a 6 month period. All patients with ILD were offered AO assessment alongside their appointment in ILD clinic. Results There were 26 ILD referrals during pilot, 11 in the same time period of the previous year. Other Respiratory disease referrals 40 in pilot, 17 in previous yr. Males 40 in pilot, 12 previous yr. Mean age was 67.8 yrs pilot (range 39–86) and 62.1 yrs (range 33–82) previous yr. All patients with ILD elected for appointments alongside their specialist ILD appointment. Non-attendance rate in ILD AO clinic was 4% compared to 36% in general AO clinic. Average wait for ILD AO clinic was one week compared to 12 weeks in general AO clinic. There was no difference in reported patient experience between ILD AO and general AO clinics. 100% (n = 43) of patients would recommend the service. 98% of patients felt involved in decisions about their oxygen prescription and 93% reported feeling better able to manage their condition. Patient and staff feedback favoured AO intgegration into ILD clinic figure 1. Conclusion Integrating AO assessments into specialist ILD clinics significantly reduced non-attendance rate and waiting times; these efficiencies have enabled us to meet increased demands on the service without compromising excellent patient outcomes. Reference Creamer AW, Barratt SL. Does ambulatory oxygen improve quality of life in patients with fibrotic lung disease? Results from the AmbOx trial. Breathe (Sheff) 2019;15(2):140–143