Korean J Hosp Palliat Care.  2015 Jun;18(2):128-135. 10.14475/kjhpc.2015.18.2.128.

Does Home Oxygen Therapy Slow Down the Progression of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases?

• Han KT
• Kim SJ
• Park EC
• Yoo KB
• Kwon JA
• Kim TH

• KMID: 2305262
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14475/kjhpc.2015.18.2.128

Abstract

PURPOSE
As the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) began to cover home oxygen therapy (HOT) services from 2006, it is expected that the new services have contributed to overall positive outcome of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We examined whether the usage of HOT has helped slow down the progression of COPD.
METHODS
We examined hospital claim data (N=10,798) of COPD inpatients who were treated in 2007~2012. We performed chi2 tests to analyze the differences in the changes to respiratory impairment grades. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that are associated with the use of HOT. Finally, a generalized linear mixed model was used to examine association between the HOT treatment and changes to respiratory impairment grades.
RESULTS
A total of 2,490 patients had grade 1 respiratory impairment, and patients with grades 2 or 3 totaled 8,308. The OR for use of HOT was lower in grade 3 patients than others (OR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.30~0.37). The maintenance/mitigation in all grades, those who used HOT had a higher OR than non-users (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.23~1.61).
CONCLUSION
HOT was effective in maintaining or mitigating the respiratory impairment in COPD patients.

Keyword

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Oxygen inhalation therapy; Home care services; Respiratory mechanics

MeSH Terms

Home Care Services
Humans
Inpatients
Logistic Models
Lung Diseases, Obstructive*
National Health Programs
Oxygen Inhalation Therapy
Oxygen*
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
Respiratory Mechanics
Oxygen