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Acute sarcoidosis — SCE Respiratory MCQ

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HardInterstitial Lung DiseaseAcute sarcoidosisSCE Respiratory

A patient with severe COPD is very breathless but has resting SpO2 95% and falls only to 92% during walking. He asks for brief oxygen cylinders to use whenever breathless. What is the correct advice?

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Correct answer: B — Do not prescribe oxygen; optimise non-oxygen breathlessness strategies

Short-burst oxygen does not improve breathlessness in COPD when resting hypoxaemia is mild or absent and should not be offered for that purpose. Breathlessness should prompt optimisation of inhaled treatment, rehabilitation, comorbidity assessment and appropriate non-pharmacological or palliative strategies.

Reference: NICE NG115 recommendations for COPD (Updated 26 July 2019): https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng115/chapter/Recommendations; NICE NG115 rationale for COPD recommendations (Updated 26 July 2019): https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng115/chapter/Rationale-and-impact