ABSTRACT
Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is the only treatment that has been shown to significantly improve life expectancy in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibiting marked hypoxemia. There has been a considerable development of LTOT in the last two decades, which is accounted for both by the technological improvements in oxygen-delivery systems and by our better knowledge of the beneficial effects of LTOT, which include quality of life and pulmonary hemodynamic effects. It is estimated that more than 500,000 people, including a large majority of COPD patients, receive home oxygen therapy in the United States. In France about 50,000 people are treated with home oxygen therapy.
