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 Garcia-Talavera, Ignacio A1 Tauroni, Alfonso A1 Trujillo, Jose Luis A1 Pitti, Ruth A1 Eiroa, Luisa A1 Aguirre-Jaime, Armando A1 Sánchez, Alejandro A1 Abreu, Juan 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.