[Indications of home oxygen therapy for patients with COPD or ILD]

Long-term oxygen therapy (defined by oxygen administration exceeding 15hours/day) for patients with severe resting chronic hypoxemia is the most validated modality of home oxygen therapy, its survival benefit having been demonstrated several decades ago. In addition to this well-accepted indication for home oxygen therapy, other modalities of home oxygen administration have been proposed, such as long-term oxygen therapy for patients with moderate hypoxemia, ambulatory oxygen therapy for patients with severe exertional room air hypoxemia, and nocturnal oxygen therapy for patients with nocturnal hypoxemia. The aim of the present manuscript is to review the evidence supporting the indications for the different modalities of home oxygen therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or interstitial lung disease, two lung pathologies for which most data are available. We also wished to synthetize the recommendations of different thoracic societies/groups of experts on the indications for long-term oxygen therapy.