Appropriate clinical prescription of home continuous oxygen therapy

Abstract

Medicinal gases are part of the group of medications used in the appropriate treatment of some illnesses, so their prescription must be done with the same precision and care as the rest of medications. The purpose of the oxygen therapy is to increase the oxygen source to the tissues through an increase of the oxygen concentration in the inspired air, using the arterial blood at its maximum transport capability. It is a home health care that helps thousands of patients with chronic respiratory conditions to enjoy a better quality of life. This treatment consists in the home oxygen administration to those patients in stable condition who are suffering from chronic respiratory failure. In this paper, the classification of the recommendations of home oxygen therapy and the quality of the evidence according to the GRADE system are exposed, as well as the update of indication criteria for the service in affections such as: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diffuse interstitial lung illness, pulmonary hypertension, effort and dream hypoxemia, cystic fibrosis, congestive heart failure, cluster headache, hepatic-pulmonary syndrome and in terminal patients. As conclusion: this treatment must be prescribed in an optimized way, according to the up to date criteria and not to overuse it, because it is not free of adverse effects and it increases the costs unnecessarily.