Adherence to long-term home oxygen therapy in patients with chronic respiratory disease in two cities in the state of Minas Gerais Brazil

摘要

Hypoxemia is a common clinical feature in patients with chronic respiratory disease. Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is the recommended treatment for hypoxemia and can effectively improve survival in chronic hypoxemic patients. The criteria for prescribing LTOT are well established by national and international guidelines,1,2 included a duration of at least 15 h/day in the presence of hypoxemia at rest (i.e., PaO2 ≤ 55 mmHg; SaO2 ≤ 88%; or PaO2 = 56-59 mmHg and SaO2 ≤ 89% at rest in the presence of pulmonary hypertension, cor pulmonale, or polycythemia [hematocrit > 55%]).1 Most LTOT prescriptions are provided at hospital discharge after remission of lung disease/an exacerbation. Medical societies recommend that patients eligible for LTOT be assessed 90 days after hospital discharge after remission of lung disease/an exacerbation, because more than one third of such patients will no longer need LTOT then.1-6 Although the benefits of LTOT in the prevention and treatment of pulmonary hypertension and in the reduction of mortality are well documented, studies have reported that adherence to LTOT is poor, ranging from 45% to 70%.5,7