ABSTRACT
Oxygen therapy is generally considered as beneficial and, at worst, harmless. In most conditions, there has, until recently, been little good evidence that this statement is incorrect, and as a consequence, oxygen is often given liberally to avoid hypoxemia, which may be fatal. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the few conditions in which this does not hold true, and there is in fact good evidence that oxygen can be harmful. This chapter will review the key pathophysiological derangements relevant to oxygen administration before discussing how best to approach the issue of how to deliver and monitor oxygen therapy during acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD).
