American Thoracic Society issues guidelines for home oxygen therapy in interstitial lung disease

The American Thoracic Society released new guidance on the use of home oxygen therapy in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) but emphasized the need for more research in this area.

The guidelines, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Clinical Care, recommended the following:

-Long-term oxygen use in patients with COPD (moderate-quality evidence) or ILD (low-quality evidence) with severe chronic resting hypoxemia (strong recommendation)

-No long-term oxygen use in patients with COPD with moderate chronic resting hypoxemia (conditional recommendation)

-Use of ambulatory oxygen in patients with COPD (moderate-quality evidence) or ILD (low-quality evidence) with severe exertional hypoxemia (conditional recommendation)

-Use of ambulatory liquid-oxygen in patients who are mobile outside the home and require >3 L/min of continuous-flow oxygen during exertion (very-low-quality evidence) (conditional recommendation)

-Patients and their caregivers should receive education on oxygen equipment and safety (best-practice statement).

Reference
Jacobs SS, Krishnan JA, Lederer DJ, et al. Home oxygen therapy for adults with chronic lung disease. An official American Thoracic Society Clinical Practice Guideline. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020;15;202(10):e121-e141. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202009-3608ST. PMID: 33185464; PMCID: PMC7667898.