News Releases - 2007

August 15, 2007

Portable Oxygen Little Help For Many COPD Patients

Expensive, inconvenient, and new study shows few benefit

Toronto (August 15, 2007) – Although oxygen is routinely prescribed for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, its role for COPD patients whose oxygen levels only drop during exercise has been the subject of much debate. A new study by researchers at West Park Healthcare Centre notes that portable oxygen improves quality of life for only a small percentage of such individuals.

“For some people struggling with this debilitating lung disease, oxygen can be the difference between life and death,“ says Dr. Roger Goldstein, a Respirologist at West Park Healthcare Centre, expert in COPD and senior author of the study. “Yet this study shows there are serious problems with indiscriminate use of oxygen, and likely an over-reliance on it by those who do not benefit.”

The study, published today in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, involved patients in a series of two-week trials using either oxygen or just compressed air (as a placebo). At the end of each trial, patients were assessed using standard medical questionnaires on quality of life and a five-minute home walking test.

Although the patients on oxygen could take several more steps during the walk test, their quality of life did not change.

“This study is important because it allows physicians to make more informed decisions when prescribing portable oxygen for COPD patients,” says Dr. Goldstein. “Based on these findings, we can better target who would benefit from this therapy, and who would only take on an added burden of expense and inconvenience.”

An accompanying editorial by two physicians at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions praises the “innovative” study and concludes it “challenge those of us who prescribe oxygen to explore the intricacies of real-world activity levels of our patients and how oxygen may benefit those individuals.”

In Ontario, the provincial government spends about $60 million annually on home oxygen therapy. In 2002, the total U.S. Medicare costs for home oxygen therapy was $2.2 billion (U.S.).

An estimated 750,000 Canadians are diagnosed with COPD, which represents a combination of several respiratory ailments including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The condition is characterized by shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. There is no cure and the disease gets progressively worse.

The study was supported by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. The study reflected the ongoing collaboration between the University of Toronto (West Park Healthcare Centre) and McMaster University. Co-authoring the study were: Mika Nonoyama, Dr. Dina Brooks and Dr. Gordon Guyatt.

West Park Healthcare Centre provides specialized rehabilitation, complex continuing care and long term care services, helping people overcome their health barriers to live life to the fullest after the onset of an illness or injury. The Centre is also recognized internationally for its expertise and research in respiratory medicine, its rehabilitation services for those with emphysema and chronic bronchitis (known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD) and its care of those with tuberculosis.

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For more information, please contact:

Vince Rice, Director, Public Relations
Phone: (416) 243-3730
Pager: (416) 372-2915
Email: vice.rice@westpark.org