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Benefits of oxygen on exercise performance in patients with chronic lung diseases
open access
Abstract
Chronic respiratory diseases limit exercise capacity, due to breathlessness and hypoxemia. A decrease in daily activity results in impairment of quality of life and higher mortality. Oxygen therapy improves exercise capacity. The main mechanism of this improvement in COPD patients is a reduction in dynamic hyperinflation. The benefits of oxygen therapy is present not only in patients with severe hypoxemia at rest (PaO2 < 60 mm Hg) requiring long-term oxygen therapy, but also in mild hypoxemic patients who develop desaturation during exercise. An improvement in exercise tolerance is proportional to the administered oxygen flow. Provision of oxygen flow from ambulatory source may be continuous or intermittent only during inspiration. Both methods seem to be comparable in terms of improving exercise tolerance and reducing hypoxemia. Ambulatory oxygen should be prescribed to all patients on long-term oxygen therapy who report outdoor activity. Moreover, normoxemic patients with severe exertional desaturation and low exercise tolerance should also be prescribed ambulatory oxygen. The flow of oxygen should be titrated to prevent desaturation during activities. The long-term effects of ambulatory oxygen such as improvement of quality of life and increasing daily activity have not been confirmed and require further investigation.
Abstract
Chronic respiratory diseases limit exercise capacity, due to breathlessness and hypoxemia. A decrease in daily activity results in impairment of quality of life and higher mortality. Oxygen therapy improves exercise capacity. The main mechanism of this improvement in COPD patients is a reduction in dynamic hyperinflation. The benefits of oxygen therapy is present not only in patients with severe hypoxemia at rest (PaO2 < 60 mm Hg) requiring long-term oxygen therapy, but also in mild hypoxemic patients who develop desaturation during exercise. An improvement in exercise tolerance is proportional to the administered oxygen flow. Provision of oxygen flow from ambulatory source may be continuous or intermittent only during inspiration. Both methods seem to be comparable in terms of improving exercise tolerance and reducing hypoxemia. Ambulatory oxygen should be prescribed to all patients on long-term oxygen therapy who report outdoor activity. Moreover, normoxemic patients with severe exertional desaturation and low exercise tolerance should also be prescribed ambulatory oxygen. The flow of oxygen should be titrated to prevent desaturation during activities. The long-term effects of ambulatory oxygen such as improvement of quality of life and increasing daily activity have not been confirmed and require further investigation.
Keywords
oxygen therapy, exercise, respiratory failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ambulatory oxygen
About this articleTitle
Benefits of oxygen on exercise performance in patients with chronic lung diseases
Journal
Advances in Respiratory Medicine
Issue
Article type
Review paper
Pages
259-266
Bibliographic record
Pneumonol Alergol Pol 2013;81(3):259-266.
Keywords
oxygen therapy
exercise
respiratory failure
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
ambulatory oxygen
Authors
Jacek Nasiłowski