@article {Mart{\'\i}1606, author = {Sergi Mart{\'\i} and Virginia Pajares and F{\'a}tima Morante and Maria-Ant{\`o}nia Ram{\'o}n and Jordi Lara and Jaume Ferrer and Maria-Rosa G{\"u}ell}, title = {Are Oxygen-Conserving Devices Effective for Correcting Exercise Hypoxemia?}, volume = {58}, number = {10}, pages = {1606--1613}, year = {2013}, doi = {10.4187/respcare.02260}, publisher = {Respiratory Care}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Correction of exercise hypoxemia in advanced lung diseases is crucial and often challenging. However, oxygen-conserving devices have been introduced in the market with limited evidence of effectiveness. In the present study the efficacy of 2 oxygen-conserving devices, a pulse demand oxygen delivery (DOD) system and pendant reservoir cannula (PRC), were evaluated in subjects with COPD and interstitial lung disease (ILD). METHODS: A cross-sectional, crossover study included 28 COPD and 31 ILD subjects with oxygen desaturation on the 6-min walk test (average SpO2 \< 88\%). Each subject underwent 3 walk tests with DOD, PRC, and continuous oxygen flow by standard nasal cannula (CFNC), in random order, taking average SpO2 >= 90\% as the resaturation criterion. RESULTS: Exercise desaturation was corrected in 79\%, 79\%, and 86\% of COPD subjects with CFNC, DOD, and PRC, respectively, and in 77\%, 61\%, and 81\% of ILD subjects with CFNC, DOD, and PRC, respectively. When compared to CFNC, the oxygen-conserving devices showed similar efficacy, except a lower performance for the DOD in the ILD subjects (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Although these oxygen-conserving devices corrected exercise hypoxemia in most COPD and ILD subjects, correction was not achieved in about 20\% of the severe COPD subjects, regardless of the device, and in nearly 40\% of the ILD subjects with the DOD device. These findings underscore that individualized adjustment of oxygen flow is needed for optimal correction of exercise hypoxemia, especially with a DOD in an ILD patient. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01086891).}, issn = {0020-1324}, URL = {https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/58/10/1606}, eprint = {https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/58/10/1606.full.pdf}, journal = {Respiratory Care} }