Fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD) with exertional hypoxaemia can significantly limit daily physical activity, yet the effectiveness of ambulatory oxygen therapy remains uncertain due to limited evidence. To address this gap, a study evaluated the impact of ambulatory oxygen compared with ambulatory air on daily physical activity in 614 individuals with fibrotic ILD and isolated exertional hypoxaemia. The study found no significant difference in mean daily step count between ambulatory oxygen (-271 steps per day) and ambulatory air (64 steps per day), with a between-group difference of -334 steps per day at 3 months.
There were no treatment-related serious adverse events, and the number and type of adverse events were similar between the two groups. These findings suggest that ambulatory oxygen delivered via a portable concentrator does not improve daily physical activity compared…
