Trial of Portable Oxygen Cylinders Versus Battery Powered Portable Oxygen Concentrators
Condition: COPD
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Randomised cross-over study of portable oxygen concentrators compared to oxygen cylinders to
      improve quality of life and other outcomes for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary
      disease.
    

Detailed description: 
      Many patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have limited activities of
      daily living (shopping, visiting friends, going for a walk) due to exertional dyspnoea. State
      Government funding provides up to 4 oxygen cylinders to be delivered to patients requiring
      portable oxygen per month. However, the more active and motivated COPD patients often find
      these gratis supplies run out well before the month is up. Recent technology has developed
      battery powered portable oxygen concentrators. The latest models weigh less than a typical
      oxygen cylinder and have the advantage that the battery plug can be plugged into a car
      cigarette lighter outlet, or into the power point of any house. This means that the COPD
      patient has the potential to be far more mobile for far longer periods of time and visit
      friends almost infinitely by recharging the battery pack during the course of their travels.
      The latest battery powered oxygen device weighs 2kgs which is about half that of an oxygen
      cylinder. However, there is an upfront expense to these devices and inevitably a sound
      business case with cost considerations (amortization of the initial purchase price,
      recharging the battery costing the patient's electricity etc) needs consideration. Also,
      before assuming these devices are superior (or at least as good as) oxygen cylinders, because
      they have a pulsed delivery of oxygen technology i.e. the oxygen is delivered in bursts with
      each inspiration that is detected, unlike oxygen cylinders which can run continuously, one
      cannot assume without rigorous evaluation that mobility and quality of life necessarily is
      good or superior with the new devices. Hence, quality of life evaluation with emphasis on
      enjoyed activities by each COPD patient are essential as well as costing issues for the
      funding stakeholder (i.e. hospital site specific funds). Should a sound business case be made
      (i.e. improved quality of life with less costs over a longer period of time), then a sound
      justification can be made to funding bodies that COPD patients are better off and the funding
      body is shouldering less cost by wider usage of these devices following evaluation of this
      project. The design will be a randomised crossover such that COPD patients will spend one
      month on oxygen or battery powered concentrator devices and then switch over to the other
      oxygen delivery. Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (Quality of Life) will be administered at
      the end of each month.
    

Intervention name(s): Portable Oxygen
Intervention type(s): Device
Other intervention name(s): Respironics Airsep (rental) AssetNumber 38269
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Intervention model description: Portable oxygen concentrators vs oxygen cylinders
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: COPD; Oxygen cylinder; Portable oxygen cylinder; Battery powered delivery device; mobility; dyspnoea; Quality of Life; Cost effectiveness