A novel device for measuring long-term oxygen therapy adherence: a preliminary validation

• Published in: Respiratory care Vol. 51; no. 3; p. 266
• Main Authors: Lin, Sun-Kai V, Kuna, Samuel T, Bogen, Daniel K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.03.2006
• Subjects: Aged; Female; Humans; Long-Term Care; Male; Middle Aged; Oxygen Inhalation Therapy - instrumentation; Patient Compliance; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - therapy; United States; United States
• ISSN: 0020-1324

Current methods for measuring patient adherence to long-term oxygen therapy fail to measure the actual amount of time the patient is inhaling oxygen and the pattern of oxygen use within the day. We have developed a novel oxygen-adherence monitor to address these limitations, and this report introduces the monitor and provides preliminary data validating its use. This battery-powered monitor attaches to the oxygen source and detects respiratory-related pressure fluctuations transmitted through the nasal cannula. The monitor takes a measurement over a 25-second period, at 4-min intervals. It detects and stores data on 4 different states that describe the patient's actual use of the oxygen source and nasal cannula: source-off/cannula-off, source-off/cannula-on, source-on/cannula-off, and source-on/cannula-on. We studied the monitor's performance with 10 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, during a directly-observed sequence of using and not using supplemental oxygen via nasal cannula, while sitting and walking. The monitor correctly detected 122 out of 129 measurements among all participants, yielding a 95\% detection accuracy. A monitor that objectively measures oxygen inhalation, rather than oxygen expenditure, may help improve the management of patients on long-term oxygen therapy.