The long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy experience and needs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative meta-synthesis.

The synthesis included only 9 studies, so it may not capture the full range of patient experiences. The studies were from 2002 to 2022, and there was a scarcity of literature from the last 3 years, so newer oxygen devices and current care practices may be missing. None of the included studies explicitly examined cultural or value differences, so these results may not apply equally across cultures. All included studies were rated B for quality, which means some risk of bias remained. The search excluded grey literature and dissertations, so relevant unpublished experiences may be missing. Two included studies did not report ethics review, so participant protection details are unclear.

Do not read these patient-reported themes as evidence that long-term oxygen therapy works or does not work. The synthesis reports experiences, not measured treatment effects, and the suggested supports were not tested here.