PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Garcia-Talavera, Ignacio
AU  - Tauroni, Alfonso
AU  - Trujillo, Jose Luis
AU  - Pitti, Ruth
AU  - Eiroa, Luisa
AU  - Aguirre-Jaime, Armando
AU  - Sánchez, Alejandro
AU  - Abreu, Juan
TI  - Time to Desaturation Less Than One Minute Predicts the Need for Long-Term Home Oxygen Therapy
AID  - 10.4187/respcare.01164
DP  - 2011 Nov 01
TA  - Respiratory Care
PG  - 1812--1817
VI  - 56
IP  - 11
4099  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/56/11/1812.short
4100  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/56/11/1812.full
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.