Long-Term Oxygen Therapy for Cor Pulmonale in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Besides smoking cessation, antiobstructive therapy, and the treatment of intercurrent infections, long-term oxygen therapy has had the most impressive impact on survival in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD leads to a functional and anatomical obstruction of the pulmonary vascular bed, with the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension and cor pulmonale. In these patients, survival benefit from long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) stems mainly from improved hemodynamics. However, this improvement is limited: hypoxemic COPD patients treated by LTOT have the same life expectancy as nonhypoxemic COPD patients. Practical aspects concerning the prescription and application of LTOT are discussed, with special emphasis on ambulatory oxygen and oxygen-saving techniques

Cor pulmonale

“…Other treatments patients with COPD treated with LTOT seem to have the same life expectancy as nonhypoxemic patients with COPD [52]. A study found that continuous LTOT was superior to nocturnal LTOT in reducing the mortality rate [47].…”