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Prognosis for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients who receive long-term oxygen therapy
A Hjalmarsen1, H Melbye, T Wilsgaard
1Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Tromsø, Norway. medauh@rito.no
Objective:
To investigate the survival of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receiving long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT).
Design:
Retrospective study of 124 patients (76 males and 48 females, mean age 68 years) using LTOT from 1990 to 1996, studied with lifetable analyses. Seventy-six patients with PaO2 < or = 7.3 kPa, and 48 patients with PaO2 > or = 7.4 kPa were allocated to Groups I and II, respectively.
Results:
The groups had similar FEV1 and FVC levels. The 2- and 5-year survival rates were 73% and 50%, respectively, in Group I, and 78% and 40% in Group II. PaCO2 and FVC were predictors of survival in Group II. Women lived significantly longer than men (Group I: P < 0.01, relative risk [RR] 0.341) but had better FEV1 (P < 0.01). Survival was significantly poorer for patients in the general hospital (P < 0.05, RR 2.096) compared with those at a university hospital.
Conclusion:
Survival during LTOT was similar in patients with and without severe hypoxaemia at the same level of loss of lung function. Survival was poorer when LTOT was not prescribed and followed in a department of respiratory medicine.