COPD · Long-term oxygen therapy
Long term domiciliary oxygen therapy in chronic hypoxic cor pulmonale
| Design | Controlled trial at three UK centres |
|---|---|
| Treatment | Oxygen by nasal prongs for at least 15 hours daily, usually 2 L/min |
| Control | No oxygen |
| Population | 87 patients under 70 with chronic bronchitis or emphysema, severe hypoxaemia, carbon dioxide retention and previous congestive cardiac failure |
| Follow-up | 5 years |
| Primary endpoint | Survival |
| Result | 19 of 42 oxygen-treated patients died during five years of follow-up versus 30 of 45 controls. Among the 66 men, the survival advantage did not emerge until 500 days had elapsed. |
The other half of the evidence base for long-term oxygen therapy, and the source of the 15-hour threshold. That the survival curves took 500 days to separate is worth remembering when counselling patients: this is not a treatment with a quick return.
Long term domiciliary oxygen therapy in chronic hypoxic cor pulmonale complicating chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Report of the Medical Research Council Working Party. Lancet 1981 Mar 28;1(8222):681-6.