The European respiratory journal : official journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Ambulatory oxygen improves quality of life of COPD patients: a randomised controlled study.
It is unknown whether acute response to ambulatory oxygen (O2) predicts longer term improvement in health-related quality of life (HRQL) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The aims of this study were 1) to assess the short-term clinical impact, as determined by HRQL, of ambulatory O2 in a 12-week, double-blind, randomised crossover study of O2 (versus cylinder compressed air) of dyspnoeic but not chronically hypoxic COPD patients with exertional desaturation < or = 88% (n=41), and 2) to determine whether either baseline characteristics or acute response to O2 predicts short-term (12 weeks) response. Primary outcome measures were Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and the short form (SF)-36. ⋯ Short-term ambulatory oxygen is associated with significant improvements in health-related quality of life. These benefits cannot be predicted by baseline characteristics or acute response. Despite acute or short-term response, a substantial proportion of patients declined ambulatory oxygen.