Effect of supplemental nocturnal oxygen on gas exchange in patients with severe obstructive lung disease.

Abstract

We studied the effect of supplemental nocturnal oxygen on blood gases in 15 patients with severe but stable chronic obstructive lung disease (ratio of forced expired volume in one second to forced vital capacity, 37.2 +/- 1.8 [mean +/- S.E.] per cent of predicted; arterial oxygen tension, 50.7 +/- 1.4 mm Hg; and arterial carbon dioxide tension [PCO2], 53.1 +/- 1.5 mm Hg). Sleep variables and measures of gas exchange were determined on two consecutive nights; on the first night the subjects breathed supplemental oxygen, and on the second they breathed room air. Transcutaneous PCO2 was measured with an infrared sensor, and arterial oxygen saturation with an ear oximeter. Breathing of supplemen..