Do you commonly arrange home nocturnal oxygen at discharge for hospitalized patients with incidental nocturnal hypoxemia vs recommend an outpatient sleep study?

I'd say this is one of the more forward questions. I would place an order for an outpatient sleep study. If it's only happening at night while the patient is asleep, the most common cause is OSA, and nocturnal oxygen does not fix the pathophysiologic mechanism. This is consistent with the American A...

• No outcome trial supports empiric home O2 for isolated nocturnal hypoxemia. The evidence base for long-term oxygen therapy (NOTT, MRC, LOTT) is built on daytime resting hypoxemia in COPD (PaO2 ≤55 mmHg, or ≤59 with cor pulmonale/polycythemia). There's no equivalent mortality/morbidity benefit show...

Hi, I have never done this, as I would not be sure what I was treating, and it would not likely be covered by insurance.