Because the key symptom for most patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is shortness of breath, oxygen is often used as a treatment. However, it is not always clear to newly diagnosed patients whether medical oxygen treatment will be required or at which COPD stage oxygen therapy is likely to be prescribed. Read on to learn when pulmonologists often decide to prescribe supplemental oxygen to COPD patients.
COPD is a progressive disease. Over time, the symptoms worsen, causing increasing breathlessness, coughing and more. There are four stages of COPD, each of which is characterized by worsening symptoms.
The information presented here should give you a better understanding of different COPD stages.
Typically, oxygen becomes more necessary as COPD progresses. As the disease advances, the patient’s lung damage compounds and symptoms become more serious. Shortness of breath will become more frequent and more severe as patients progress through the COPD stages. As shortness of breath gets worse, low blood oxygen levels become a more significant risk, which is when oxygen therapy is most beneficial. A lack of sufficient oxygen can result in hypoxia and hypoxemia—low oxygen levels in the tissue and in the blood—which can have a number of dangerous symptoms and can become a life-threatening situation if allowed to continue untreated. Treating hypoxia and hypoxemia with oxygen therapy can help raise blood oxygen levels back to healthy levels.
There is no specific COPD stage when oxygen therapy is required. Instead, your health care team will keep track of the severity of your symptoms and monitor your blood oxygen levels by regularly measuring your oxygenation with two tests. As a COPD patient, your doctor will likely take a pulse oximetry measurement at every appointment. A pulse oximeter (or pulse ox) uses light frequencies to measure your blood’s oxygen saturation, so it is an easy and noninvasive way to measure your oxygen levels. With a pulse ox measurement, normal oxygen levels are between 95-100%, so anything below that (particularly below 90%[3]) may indicate that you need an arterial blood gas (ABG) study. An arterial blood gas study measures the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood and tests the pH of your blood, which can give your doctors a bit more information about how well your lungs are functioning. For an ABG, blood must be drawn from an artery rather than a vein, but it can provide excellent information in as little as 15 minutes. A normal blood oxygen level from an ABG should fall between 75 and 100 mm Hg. Your doctor can use these results to determine if your lungs are taking in enough oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide properly, as well as get an overall picture of your respiratory function. If your ABG results are under 75 mm Hg, your doctor will want to take a closer look at how and when your oxygen levels are dropping.[4] If you have consistently low blood oxygen levels, it is likely that your doctor will recommend oxygen therapy.
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Pulmonologists typically prescribe oxygen therapy to patients who are unable to treat breathlessness with other COPD treatments like pulmonary rehabilitation, breathing exercises and medications. Once a patient’s COPD has progressed to the point that they begin to show continued shortness of breath even with other regular therapies, pulmonologists are likely to prescribe oxygen therapy to COPD patients who:[5]
Be aware that doctors are careful to reserve long-term oxygen therapy for patients who truly need it, because once a patient begins long-term oxygen therapy, they are likely to need it for the rest of their life. Typically, long-term oxygen therapy is given to patients for a minimum of 15 hours per day. Patients may use oxygen therapy overnight if they tend to experience worsening hypoxemia while sleeping. The benefits of long-term oxygen therapy, when used at least 15 hours per day in COPD patients with severe and chronic hypoxemia, has been well documented and it has been shown to increase survival for those patients. Your pulmonologist will carefully explore your pattern of low blood oxygen to determine the right oxygen prescription for you.[6]
Oxygen therapy has been a key treatment for COPD patients for many years. Not only does it increase survival when given to patients with significant hypoxemia at least 15 hours per day, but it also helps improve quality of life for patients living with COPD.[6] Patients experiencing frequent dyspnea, or difficult or labored breathing, often experience fear and anxiety associated with their persistent breathlessness. Breathlessness alone is difficult to navigate, but the fear and anxiety associated with it can impede on a patient’s quality of life. Oxygen therapy can help ease that fear and anxiety by giving patients the oxygen they need to breathe easier, as well as providing the assurance that they will have that oxygen available to them when they need it.[7]
The benefits of oxygen therapy become even more profound when patients use a portable oxygen concentrator (POC) for their oxygen therapy. Not only is the overall cost of a portable oxygen concentrator lower than a traditional oxygen tank, but patients can better participate in their daily lives with a POC. Portable oxygen concentrators can also provide patients with increased stamina and exercise tolerance and improved sleep, mental alertness and mood.[8] Inogen’s POCs are designed for the travel needs of our active patients and their lifestyle.
Because of Inogen’s innovative technology and commitment to improving patients’ lives, each Inogen One portable oxygen concentrator model is designed to help meet the needs of medical oxygen patients. Oxygen therapy can help improve COPD patients’ lives. Inogen can help. Find out more today.
Wondering why mouth breathing matters, how it affects you and how to stop mouth breathing? If you are a mouth breather, you probably have all of these questions and more. Read on to learn why being a mouth breather can have a surprising impact on your health.
Do you ever wonder how to purchase an oxygen concentrator? Thoughts of learning new equipment, changing your routine and engaging with your insurance provider may make the process more daunting than promising. If an oxygen tank is what you know and are used to, the thought of getting a new oxygen concentrator may be enticing. Don’t let the purchasing process be the obstacle that stands between you and your new machine. If you want to know, “How can I buy an oxygen concentrator?” read on. Learning about the buying process and ordering an Inogen oxygen concentrator can all be accomplished in minutes if you have all necessary information.
Transient nocturnal desaturation, also known as nocturnal hypoxemia, is defined as a temporary drop in oxygen saturation during sleep. Patients diagnosed with sleep disordered breathing from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at a greater risk for nocturnal desaturation. A substantial number of patients will have both COPD and OSA.[1] Transient Nocturnal Desaturation is a significant problem in COPD, affecting a relatively large number of COPD patients. In fact, one study suggests that 27-70% of COPD patients with daytime oxygen saturation levels of 90-95% experience substantial desaturation at night, particularly during a period of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. In people with severe COPD, desaturation during sleep is even more profound than desaturation during exercise, which is also common.[2] OSA is defined by intermittent collapse of the upper airway, which results in repetitive hypoxemia and arousal. It is estimated that OSA occurs in 4% of American men and 2% of women, meaning almost 10 million people in the United States are affected, although that is probably an underestimate. Obesity is a risk factor for the development of OSA. As obesity rates have risen over the last 15 years, the current prevalence of OSA is almost certainly much greater.[1] A substantial number of patients will have both OSA and COPD. This “overlap syndrome” causes more severe nocturnal hypoxemia than either disease alone. This common combination of OSA and COPD has important implications for diagnosis, treatment, and outcome.[1]
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