title: Clinical features of patients on home oxygen therapy due to chronic respiratory failure at one university hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Home oxygen therapy (HOT) costs a great deal every year and demand for the service is growing. In Korea, health insurance has covered HOT since November 1, 2006. The objective of this study was to evaluate clinical features of patients who used long-term HOT due to chronic respiratory failure and to determine the appropriateness of oxygen prescriptions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between November 2006 and April 2010, patients prescribed long-term HOT were enrolled in the study at a tertiary university referral hospital and their medical records and telephone survey information were evaluated. In total, 340 patients were evaluated retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regarding the initial indications for HOT, their mean PaO(2) was 49.8 mmHg and mean SpO(2) was 82.2%. Underlying diseases included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 19.8%), lung cancer (12.6%), and interstitial lung disease (11.2%). The admission rate within 1 year was 53.4% and the average number of admissions was 1.64/patient. Other underlying diseases for which oxygen was prescribed, despite not meeting the insurance coverage criteria, were lung cancer (36.6%) and interstitial pneumonia (16.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Home oxygen prescriptions have increased since health insurance coverage was extended. However, cases of oxygen prescriptions frequently do not meet the coverage criteria. It is important to discuss extending the coverage criteria to other disease groups, such as interstitial lung disease and lung cancer, in terms of cost-effectiveness. Further, physicians prescribing oxygen therapy should be educated regarding the criteria.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Lung Institute of Medical Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tae Yun
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Eun Sun
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Keun Bum
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Sang-Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jae-Joon
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.forename: Chul-Gyu
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Young Whan
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung Koo
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Seok-Chul
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based; D006760:Hospitalization; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D010349:Patient Compliance; D015397:Program Evaluation; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult