Long-Term Oxygen Therapy (LTOT)

Long-Term Oxygen Therapy (LTOT) is the most widely used and well-established treatment for stable COPD; however, it is a very costly therapy. Current methods of measuring patient adherence to LTOT have shown that many patients do not use oxygen for > 15 average hours per day. Nonadherence has resulted in excessive use of healthcare resources, increased morbidity, and low life expectancy. Improving adherence by means of intervention strategies can decrease some of the economic burdens of LTOT.

These strategies can be effectively tested and evaluated if there exists an accurate and reliable method for objectively measuring LTOT adherence. The existence of such a method can also provide valuable new insights into the temporal patterns of adherence, leading to a better assessment and understanding of patient adherence.

Unfortunately, no such device or method exists, and the only attempt was made by Phillips whose device had its limitations by not being covert and failing to determine if the patient was actually receiving oxygen treatment through the nares.

Long-Term Oxygen Therapy

A novel oxygen adherence monitor was developed that addresses the above limitations, and, for the first time, objectively documents when a patient is actually receiving oxygen treatment. The monitor attaches to the oxygen source and detects respiratory-related pressure fluctuations that are transmitted through the nasal cannula.

The monitor is designed to 1) attach to the oxygen source without any contact with the patient; 2) detect when the oxygen source is turned on; 3) detect when the patient is actually wearing the nasal cannula and receiving the treatment; and 4) record the time of each event, thus providing information about the patterns of oxygen use within each day.

The first portion of this dissertation describes the design of the monitor and presents the validation studies performed to assess the monitor’s accuracy.

The importance of this study is that the person who is suffering from COPD disease, he or she needs to acquire oxygen therapy, which is the effective method to reduce further risk of COPD.

Oxygen is important for the body to operate well. The nurse is in the main role to measure the need for supplemental oxygen, evaluating the response to therapy and taking of therapy, as well as ensuring that patients take proper Medicare for home therapy.

Therefore it is essential for the nurse to train the family and patient on the following aspects; oxygen is delivered at a set flow rate, and adjustments require to have conversed with the provider of health care. It has also been observed that oxygen dries the membrane of the nose, therefore, there is a need to apply water-soluble oils inside the nose which may reduce cracking and dryness (McAllister, 2002, 37-39).

The prevalence of COPD in the United Kingdom is increasing in females, in comparison to 1990-1997. It increased from 0.8 percent to 1.4 percent. These alterations are probably as of the smoking of the female cigarette. COPD is the sixth most cause of death around the globe.

Lungs engross oxygen from the air by means of the respiratory system. In some conditions of health like asthma, pneumonia, COPD, cystic fibrosis, etc., the lungs unable to attain enough breathing by the respiratory system as of the loss of their air sacs, and elasticity become inflamed and thick.

This shows the way towards the lack of breathing and the consequences in augmenting the shortness of fatigue and breathing. These symptoms and signs are treated by delivering more oxygen as of using oxygen therapy.