A recent study has shown that patients with COPD who is prescriped oxygen for home use, is getting too little oxygen when moving around.
When doing the dishes, making the bed or having a shower, study shows that patients treated with oxygen, is getting too little oxygen.
The problem stems from how doctors prescripe oxygen today. Instead of giving oxygen depending on the patients SpO2, the patient is prescriped a fixed flow.
O2matic has been included in a promising study, where the effect of automatic oxygen titration during rehabilitation. The study finds an almost 100% increase in how long patients are able to walk.
In the study, we investigated whether there is a difference in the patients’ effect of receiving a fixed dose of oxygen vs. oxygen that is continuously regulated during movement
– Linette Kofod, specialist physiotherapist and PhD student at the Department of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Hvidovre Hospital.
Read more about this facinating study below.
Abstract
The need for oxygen increases with activity in patients with COPD and on long-term oxygen treatment (LTOT), leading to periods of hypoxemia, which may influence the patient’s performance. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of automated oxygen titration compared to usual fixed-dose oxygen treatment during walking on dyspnea and endurance in patients with COPD and on LTOT. In a double-blinded randomised crossover trial, 33 patients were assigned to use either automated oxygen titration or the usual fixed-dose in a random order in two walking tests. A closed-loop device, O2matic delivered a variable oxygen dose set with a target saturation of 90–94%. The patients had a home oxygen flow of (mean ± SD) 1.6 ± 0.9 L/min. At the last corresponding isotime in the endurance shuttle walk test, the patients reported dyspnea equal to median (IQR) 4 (3–6) when using automated oxygen titration and 8 (5–9) when using fixed doses, p < 0.001. The patients walked 10.9 (6.5–14.9) min with automated oxygen compared to 5.5 (3.3–7.9) min with fixed-dose, p < 0.001. Walking with automated oxygen titration had a statistically significant and clinically important effect on dyspnea. Furthermore, the patients walked for a 98% longer time when hypoxemia was reduced with a more well-matched, personalised oxygen treatment.