Long term oxygen therapy and factors affecting patient adherence

Abstract

Aim. Long-term oxygen therapy delays the adverse effects of chronic hypoxemia and improves survival. Long term oxygen therapy must be administered at least fifteen hours a day in order to be effective. Adherence to long-term oxygen therapy is the main problem. In this study we evaluated patient adherence to long-term oxygen therapy and reasons of poor compliance. Method. A questionnaire was administered to 51 patients whom long-term oxygen therapywas prescribed at Mardin State Hospital or Kızıltepe State hospital between 2009 and March 2012. Questionnaire was administered face to face or on telephone call. Results. Among 51 patients 32 were male, 19 were female. Thirty seven patients (72.5%) had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Thirteen patients (25.5%) were using oxygen at least fifteen hours a day. Remaining 38 patients (74.5%) were using less than fifteen hours. Of these 38 patients 22 patients were using oxygen whenever they had dyspnea, 3 patients at night and remaining 13 patients were using oxygen between 2 to 10 hours. Forty four patients reported improvement with long-term oxygen therapy , 2 patients said that they didn't notice any improvements and 5 patients were not sure about benefits of long-term oxygen therapy . Twenty seven patients (52.9%) knew that they should use at least fifteen hours. Among these 27 patients 15 patients were using less than prescribed hours, although they knew they should use at least fifteen hours. Only 4 patients reported reasons for poor compliance. One patient was afraid of getting addicted, one patient suffered from noise and two patients reported that they were not at home during day time. Conclusion. This study revealed that compliance with long-term oxygen therapy is an important issue. We think that poor compliance is due to inadequate patient information. Home care service can help for both patient education and followup.Keywords: Chronic respiratory failure, long-term oxygen therapy, patient adherence Özet Amaç. Uzun süreli oksijen tedavisi kronik hipoksinin yan etkilerini geciktiren ve sağkalımı artıran bir tedavidir. Etkin olabilmesi için oksijenin günde en az on beş saat kullanılması gerekmektedir. Bu calışmada hastalarımızın tedaviye uyum sorununu ve uyumsuzluğun sebeplerini araştırdık. Metod. 2009 ve Mart 2012 arasında Mardin ve Kızıltepe Devlet Hastanelerinde uzun süreli oksijen tedavisi reçete edilen 51 hastaya telefonla veya yüz yüze anket uygulandı. Bulgular. Elli bir hastadan 32'si erkek 19'u kadındı. Otuz yedi hastanın (%72,5) tanısı kronik obstruktif akciğer hastalığı idi. On üç (%25,5) hasta günde en az 15 saat oksijen kullanıyordu. Kalan otuz sekiz (%74,5) hasta ise reçetelenen 15 saatten daha az kullanıyordu. Bu 38 hastadan 22'si nefes darlığı hissettiklerinde, 3'ü gece ve kalan 13 hasta ise 2 ile 10 saat arasında düzensiz kullanıyordu. Kırk dört hasta uzun süreli oksijen tedavisinden fayda gördüğünü ifade etti. İki hasta fayda görmediğini kalan 5 hasta ise fayda görüp görmediğinden emin olmadığını ifade etti. Yirmi yedi hasta oksijeni...