Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have found that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving home oxygen have a higher risk of burn injury. This study was published on March 30 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Aside from smoking cessation, no other medical intervention has improved survival and quality of life for patients with COPD more than continuous oxygen therapy. Physicians prescribing oxygen to patients with COPD struggle to balance the benefits with the risk of fire hazard in patients who continue to smoke. The number of active smokers prescribed oxygen is estimated to be 15 to 25 percent. Having heat source or flame near oxygen gas can ignite a fire.
The study examined the risk of burn injury in patients with COPD receiving home oxygen and evaluated the factors associated with the risk of burn injury. The researchers used enrollment and claims data from of Medicare beneficiaries from 2001 to 2010. This nationally representative sample contained 2,055 patients with COPD that did not sustain a burn injury and 685 patients with COPD that sustained a burn injury.
The study found that patients with a burn injury were more likely to have been prescribed oxygen therapy within 90 days before the injury compared to patients with COPD that were not prescribed oxygen. These burn injuries frequently involved the face, neck or hands. Also, patients who had sustained a burn injury associated with home oxygen had a 10-fold greater mortality rate than patients with COPD and no burn injury.
Risk factors associated with burn injury in patients with COPD included male gender, having three or more other medical conditions and low socioeconomic status. The findings also indicated that one out of 1,421 patients with COPD prescribed oxygen therapy sustained a burn injury each year.
"The benefits of oxygen in COPD patients outweigh the modest risks of burn injury," said Dr. Alexander Duarte, senior author and professor in UTMB's internal medicine division of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine. "However, health care professionals should educate and counsel patients and their families on the potential risk of burn injury and attempt to decrease this risk before prescribing home oxygen therapy.
Explore further: COPD takes big toll on employment, mobility in US
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
COPD takes big toll on employment, mobility in US
(HealthDay)—The respiratory illness known as COPD takes a toll on mobility and employment, with a new report finding that nearly one-quarter of Americans with the condition are unable to work.
COPD readmission may be tied to unmodifiable risk factors
National efforts are underway to reduce 30-day readmission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, new research suggests that COPD readmissions may be related to risk factors that cannot be modified, including ...
Study finds adverse respiratory outcomes for older people with COPD taking benzodiazepines
A group of drugs commonly prescribed for insomnia, anxiety and breathing issues "significantly increase the risk" that older people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, need to visit a doctor or Emergency ...
Novel approach to helping long-term smokers
A novel program to identify and support long-term smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is being trialled by Australian researchers.
COPD patients at significantly higher risk of heart failure
As if increased risks of high blood pressure, respiratory infections, lung cancer and even depression weren't enough, researchers say patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have another complication to ...
Recommended for you
US Ebola patient's health improves again
An American healthcare worker who contracted the dangerous Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone has improved and is now listed in fair condition, hospital officials said Monday.
Endoscopes linked to outbreak of drug-resistant E. coli
An outbreak of a novel Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain resistant to antibiotics has been linked to contaminated endoscopes in a Washington state hospital. The study indicates that industry standard clea ...
Fighting back against superbugs
Antibiotics—and antibiotic resistance—are in the news once again, with announcements by McDonald's and Costco that they will eliminate antibiotics that are important to human medicine from use in the ...
Harnessing the power of microbes as therapeutics
A new report recently released by the American Academy of Microbiology discusses how specific microbes can be modified to enhance their therapeutic potential for treating human diseases such as cancer and antibiotic resistant ...
New genetic link found for alcohol-related liver cirrhosis
In most people, any liver damage that might occur from drinking alcohol is reversible. However, in 25 to 30 percent of alcoholics what begins as accumulation of fat in the liver progresses to inflammation, fibrosis and ultimately ...
Could camel antibodies protect humans from MERS?
Antibodies from dromedary camels protected uninfected mice from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and helped infected mice expunge the disease, according to a study published online March 18th in the ...
User comments
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more
Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have found that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving home oxygen have a higher risk of burn injury. This study was published on March 30 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Aside from smoking cessation, no other medical intervention has improved survival and quality of life for patients with COPD more than continuous oxygen therapy. Physicians prescribing oxygen to patients with COPD struggle to balance the benefits with the risk of fire hazard in patients who continue to smoke. The number of active smokers prescribed oxygen is estimated to be 15 to 25 percent. Having heat source or flame near oxygen gas can ignite a fire.
The study examined the risk of burn injury in patients with COPD receiving home oxygen and evaluated the factors associated with the risk of burn injury. The researchers used enrollment and claims data from of Medicare beneficiaries from 2001 to 2010. This nationally representative sample contained 2,055 patients with COPD that did not sustain a burn injury and 685 patients with COPD that sustained a burn injury.
The study found that patients with a burn injury were more likely to have been prescribed oxygen therapy within 90 days before the injury compared to patients with COPD that were not prescribed oxygen. These burn injuries frequently involved the face, neck or hands. Also, patients who had sustained a burn injury associated with home oxygen had a 10-fold greater mortality rate than patients with COPD and no burn injury.
Risk factors associated with burn injury in patients with COPD included male gender, having three or more other medical conditions and low socioeconomic status. The findings also indicated that one out of 1,421 patients with COPD prescribed oxygen therapy sustained a burn injury each year.
"The benefits of oxygen in COPD patients outweigh the modest risks of burn injury," said Dr. Alexander Duarte, senior author and professor in UTMB's internal medicine division of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine. "However, health care professionals should educate and counsel patients and their families on the potential risk of burn injury and attempt to decrease this risk before prescribing home oxygen therapy.
Explore further: COPD takes big toll on employment, mobility in US
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
COPD takes big toll on employment, mobility in US
(HealthDay)—The respiratory illness known as COPD takes a toll on mobility and employment, with a new report finding that nearly one-quarter of Americans with the condition are unable to work.
COPD readmission may be tied to unmodifiable risk factors
National efforts are underway to reduce 30-day readmission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, new research suggests that COPD readmissions may be related to risk factors that cannot be modified, including ...
Study finds adverse respiratory outcomes for older people with COPD taking benzodiazepines
A group of drugs commonly prescribed for insomnia, anxiety and breathing issues "significantly increase the risk" that older people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, need to visit a doctor or Emergency ...
Novel approach to helping long-term smokers
A novel program to identify and support long-term smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is being trialled by Australian researchers.
COPD patients at significantly higher risk of heart failure
As if increased risks of high blood pressure, respiratory infections, lung cancer and even depression weren't enough, researchers say patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have another complication to ...
Recommended for you
US Ebola patient's health improves again
An American healthcare worker who contracted the dangerous Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone has improved and is now listed in fair condition, hospital officials said Monday.
Endoscopes linked to outbreak of drug-resistant E. coli
An outbreak of a novel Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain resistant to antibiotics has been linked to contaminated endoscopes in a Washington state hospital. The study indicates that industry standard clea ...
Fighting back against superbugs
Antibiotics—and antibiotic resistance—are in the news once again, with announcements by McDonald's and Costco that they will eliminate antibiotics that are important to human medicine from use in the ...
Harnessing the power of microbes as therapeutics
A new report recently released by the American Academy of Microbiology discusses how specific microbes can be modified to enhance their therapeutic potential for treating human diseases such as cancer and antibiotic resistant ...
New genetic link found for alcohol-related liver cirrhosis
In most people, any liver damage that might occur from drinking alcohol is reversible. However, in 25 to 30 percent of alcoholics what begins as accumulation of fat in the liver progresses to inflammation, fibrosis and ultimately ...
Could camel antibodies protect humans from MERS?
Antibodies from dromedary camels protected uninfected mice from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and helped infected mice expunge the disease, according to a study published online March 18th in the ...
User comments
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more
Click here
to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.
0 comments:
Post a Comment