When should I be considering home oxygen for my patients

The ability to provide oxygenin a patient’s home canoffer enormous benefits, including improvements in life expectancy when given in the appropriate setting. Confusingly, however, home oxygenis available in many forms, including long-term oxygen therapy(LTOT), ambulatory oxygen therapy(AOT), palliative oxygen therapy(POT) and short-burst oxygen therapy(SBOT)—each with varying degrees of supporting evidence. The British Thoracic Society (BTS) has recently published new guidance on home oxygen therapy, after collatingthe available evidence. This article aims to summarise those guidelines, focusing on who should and should not be considered for oxygen therapy. Although the BTS guidelines target a UK audience, many of the principles covered below are applicable internationally, even if the availability of certain oxygenmodalities and supporting service arrangements may vary between different healthcare systems.