Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Oct;40(10):1087-1092.
doi: 10.1177/10499091221144005. Epub 2022 Nov 30.

Use of Palliative Oxygen in Cancer Patients

Caroline Gosselin  1 , Mélanie Côté  1 , Lise Tremblay  1 , Yves Lacasse  1
Affiliations

Use of Palliative Oxygen in Cancer Patients

Caroline Gosselin et al. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2023 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Despite the lack of evidence to support the use of palliative oxygen to relieve dyspnea at the end of life, its prescription is widespread and often supported by local and national practice guidelines. Objectives: The objectives of this study were (1) to determine to what extent oxygen prescriptions meet the proposed prescription criteria in our institution, (2) to examine the indication of individual prescriptions in relation to the severity of dyspnea and (3) to review the utilization of opioids in patients receiving palliative oxygen. Methods: Retrospective chart review of cancer patients who were prescribed palliative oxygen between April 2015 and January 2020 through a respiratory home care program in Quebec City, Canada. According to provincial prescription guidelines, palliative oxygen was provided and reimbursed in case of severe hypoxemia (pulse oximetry saturation at rest < 88%) in cancer patients with an estimated prognosis of less than 3 months. Results: 134 patients receiving palliative oxygen were included; 25 (19%) did not fulfill reimbursement criteria. Median survival was 44 days. At initiation of palliative oxygen, 48 patients (36%) had only mild or moderate dyspnea (Medical Research Council dyspnea score 1-3), 26 (19%) did not receive opioids, and 9 (7%) were prescribed palliative oxygen without being dyspneic or receiving opioids. Conclusion: Most prescriptions of palliative oxygen met the proposed prescription criteria in our institution. Half of those who received palliative oxygen were only mildly dyspneic and/or were not receiving opioids at the time of the prescription.

Keywords: cancer; end-of-life dyspnea; oxygen; palliative care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Overall survival. Time to death is from installation of palliative oxygen at home.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Survival according to MRC dyspnea score (left) and opioid prescription (right).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Meriggi F. Dyspnea in cancer patients: A well-known and neglected symptom. Rev Recent Clin Trials. 2018;13(2):84-88. doi:10.2174/1574887113666180326112116 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dudgeon DJ, Kristjanson L, Sloan JA, Lertzman M, Clement K. Dyspnea in cancer patients: Prevalence and associated factors. J Pain Symptom Manag. 2001;21(2):95-102. doi:10.1016/s0885-3924(00)00258-x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Henson LA, Maddocks M, Evans C, Davidson M, Hicks S, Higginson IJ. Palliative care and the management of common distressing symptoms in advanced cancer: Pain, breathlessness, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue. J Clin Oncol. 2020;38(9):905-914. doi:10.1200/JCO.19.00470 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bausewein C, Booth S, Gysels M, Higginson I. Non-pharmacological interventions for breathlessness in advanced stages of malignant and non-malignant diseases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;2:CD005623. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005623.pub2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wong SL, Leong SM, Chan CM, Kan SP, Cheng HW. The effect of using an electric fan on dyspnea in Chinese patients with terminal cancer. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2017;34(1):42-46. doi:10.1177/1049909115615127 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources