short burst oxygen therapy

Last reviewed 01/2018

Short burst oxygen therapy

• refers to the intermittent use of supplemental oxygen at home usually for periods of about 10 to 20 minutes at a time to relieve dyspnoea
• it is important to differentiate short burst therapy from the provision of continuous oxygen with exercise and termed ambulatory oxygen therapy
• short burst oxygen therapy has traditionally been used for:
  • pre-oxygenation before exercise
  • breathlessness during recovery from exercise
  • control of breathlessness at rest
  • used in palliative care
  • used after an exacerbation of COPD to bridge the time to full LTOT assessment
• short burst oxygen should be considered for episodic breathlessness, not relieved by other treatments in patients with the following conditions:
  • severe COPD
  • interstitial lung disease
  • heart failure
  • palliative care
• short burst oxygen should only be prescribed if an improvement in breathlessness and/or exercise tolerance can be documented (1)
• assessment for short burst oxygen therapy
  • no specific methodology has been developed for assessment of short burst therapy
  • other causes of breathlessness must be excluded and patients should be assessed for LTOT if appropriate

Reference:

1. British Thoracic Society (January 2006). Report on Clinical Component for the Home Oxygen Service in England and Wales.