Prevention of hypoxemia in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

I LTOT = long-term oxygen therapy ecent years have marked considerable progress in the field of pulmonary rehabilitation. t Empiric approaches are being eroded with the growmg recognition of the need for greater interdisciplinary coinmunication between respiratory physiologists, clinical pulmonologists, psychologists, respiratory therapists, and other related health care professionals. This onto1tidisciplinary approach lends increasing support to the application of scientific principles in the management ofchronic lung disease . Prevention strategies have had little impact on lung disease, and there is evidence that chronic respiratory diseases are 1)ecoming more prevalent throughout the world . Not surprisingly, therefore, rehabilitation is assuming an increasingly important role. A first international conference on “Advances in Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Management of Chronic Respiratory Failure” was held Oct 15-17, 1987, at the Medical Center of Rehabilitation of Veruno, Italy. The conference was organized by the Clinica del Lavoro Foimndatioti (Pavia), with the aim of presenting a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the pathophysiologic basis, fields of application, and different therapeutic approaches adopted in pulmonary rehabilitation. The introduction (If the proceedings of that conference highlighted a nuiiiber of unresolved controversial issues, in view of which a suggestion was made to plan 1)eriodic reviews of any new developments in the field.2 The 5 intervening years have niarked a tiuniher changes; however, many of those issues have yet to be solved, and moreoveo; new issues have emerged. The