Questionnaire survey on the continuity of home oxygen therapy after a disaster with power outages

Abstract Background After the Great East Japan Earthquake, oxygen-dependent patients in areas experiencing power outages could not continue home oxygen therapy (HOT) without oxygen cylinders. The purpose of this study was to examine use of oxygen cylinders in areas experiencing power outages and the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Respiratory investigation 2013-03, Vol.51 (1), p.9-16
Main Authors: Sato, Kazuhiro, Morita, Ryo, Tsukamoto, Kazuhito, Sato, Narumi, Sasaki, Yumiko, Asano, Mariko, Okuda, Yuji, Miura, Hajime, Sano, Masaaki, Kosaka, Toshimitsu, Watanabe, Hiroyuki, Shioya, Takanobu, Ito, Hiroshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety
Earthquakes
Electric Power Supplies
Electricity
Equipment Failure
Female
Health Status
Home Care Services
Home oxygen therapy
Humans
Internal Medicine
Japan
Male
Middle Aged
Natural disaster
Oxygen - administration & dosage
Oxygen Inhalation Therapy - psychology
Oxygen supply
Pulmonary/Respiratory
Questionnaire
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors
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Summary:Abstract Background After the Great East Japan Earthquake, oxygen-dependent patients in areas experiencing power outages could not continue home oxygen therapy (HOT) without oxygen cylinders. The purpose of this study was to examine use of oxygen cylinders in areas experiencing power outages and the effects of HOT interruption on patients' health. Methods Questionnaires were mailed to 1106 oxygen-dependent patients and HOT-prescribing physicians in Akita, near the disaster-stricken area. We investigated patients' actions when unable to use an oxygen concentrator and classified the patients based on oxygen cylinder use. Patients who experienced an interruption of or reduction in oxygen flow rate by their own judgment were assigned to the “interruption” and “reduction” groups, respectively; those who maintained their usual flow rate were assigned to the “continuation” group. Differences were tested using analysis of variance and the χ2 tests. Results In total, 599 patients responded to the questionnaire. Oxygen cylinders were supplied to 574 patients (95.8%) before their oxygen cylinders were depleted. Comparison of the continuation ( n =356), reduction ( n =64), and interruption ( n =154) groups showed significant differences in family structure ( p =0.004), underlying disease ( p =0.014), oxygen flow rate ( p
ISSN:2212-5345
2212-5353
DOI:10.1016/j.resinv.2012.10.005