Loading...
Long-term oxygen therapy lowers short-term mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe hypoxemia, but benefits for those with moderate hypoxemia are less clear. In this meta-analysis, researchers pooled data from six randomized trials of long-term oxygen therapy in patients with COPD and moderate hypoxemia (defined as hypoxemia without oxygen saturations ≤88% and without isolated nocturnal hypoxemia). Studies of long-term oxygen therapy in patients with purely exertional hypoxemia were excluded. In total, 1000 patients who received oxygen therapy for an average of 7 to 14 hours daily or usual care were included.
Patients who received oxygen therapy and usual-care patients had similar 3-year mortality, i…