ABSTRACT

This presentation focuses on the use of oxygen for the long-term management and rehabili­ tation of patients with chronic lung disease and hypoxemia, recognizing that oxygen is also a critical component of therapy in acute respiratory failure but with different goals and applications. Multicenter studies conducted in North America and the United Kingdom have demonstrated the value of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypoxemia. In these clinical trials, it has been shown that oxygen not only increases survival but also improves quality of life, measured in both physiological and functional parameters. In patients with COPD and hypoxemia at rest, nearly continuous oxygen was found to be superior to oxygen administered for shorter periods of time during the day or night. Subsequent studies have suggested that “ true” continuous oxygen therapy may provide even greater benefits than those found in the Nocturnal Oxygen Therapy Trial (NOTT) conducted in North America, where nearly continuous oxygen for 18 h/day was superior to nocturnal oxygen to improve survival and quality of life.