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Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2015; 36(04): 552-566
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1556058
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Supplemental Oxygen Therapy for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Igor Barjaktarevic
1   Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
,
Christopher B. Cooper
1   Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
2   Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
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Publikationsdatum:
03. August 2015 (online)

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Abstract

Oxygen is necessary for aerobic metabolism. Since the human body cannot produce or store oxygen, a continuous and adequate delivery of oxygen needs to be secured by oxygen uptake from inhaled air via the respiratory system and oxygen delivery to body tissues via the circulation. Severely reduced lung function in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be a limiting factor for adequate oxygen uptake and patients with this disease may require supplemental oxygen therapy. While the methodology of oxygen delivery in home settings represents a continuously evolving field, oxygen therapy itself has been an integral part of the management of severely hypoxemic patients with COPD for more than 50 years despite the lack of full understanding of its effects and the relative paucity of clinical evidence supporting its use. In this article, we review the physiological effects and discuss the clinical benefits of oxygen therapy. We also evaluate the evidence supporting and arguing against its use in the published literature, discuss its risks and benefits, define criteria for prescribing oxygen therapy, and review methods of oxygen delivery in home settings.

Keywords

supplemental oxygen - home oxygen - oxygen therapy - COPD - hypoxia