RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Time to Desaturation Less Than One Minute Predicts the Need for Long-Term Home Oxygen Therapy
JF Respiratory Care
FD American Association for Respiratory Care
SP 1812
OP 1817
DO 10.4187/respcare.01164
VO 56
IS 11
A1 Ignacio Garcia-Talavera
A1 Alfonso Tauroni
A1 Jose Luis Trujillo
A1 Ruth Pitti
A1 Luisa Eiroa
A1 Armando Aguirre-Jaime
A1 Alejandro Sánchez
A1 Juan Abreu
YR 2011
UL http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/56/11/1812.abstract
AB BACKGROUND: Exercise desaturation in patients with COPD is a pathophysiological phenomenon that is not wholly understood and whose clinical consequences are still unclear. METHODS: Eighty-three patients with moderate to severe COPD and PaO2 > 60 mm Hg who desaturated during the 6-min walk test were followed for 5 years. Forty-eight patients had early desaturation (SpO2 fell below 90% less than one minute after starting the walk test). Spirometry, blood-gas measurements, and 6-min walk tests were performed every 6 months. We recorded 6-min walk distance, baseline SpO2, lowest SpO2, and the time to SpO2 < 90%. In each control, stable patients with severe hypoxia at rest who required long-term oxygen therapy were identified. RESULTS: Upon completion of the study, 65% of the early desaturators had developed severe hypoxemia and required long-term home oxygen, versus 11% in the non-early desaturators (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with moderate to severe COPD, desaturation within the first minute of the 6-min walk test predicts the need for long-term home oxygen at 5-year follow-up.