Community nurses often have people with chronic respiratory
disease on their caseloads and among the vital skills needed to
manage this group is the measurement of resting oxygen saturation
by pulse oximetry, which can help the nurse decide whether or not
to refer the patient onto a specialist oxygen service for assessment.
Many elderly patients also have a diagnosis of chronic lung disease
and will be receiving long-term oxygen therapy. Pulse oximetry
is helpful in assessing whether the prescribed oxygen flow rate
is correct for the individual — this may change over time if the
patient's condition deteriorates. This article examines the latest
techniques and equipment in home oxygen therapy and the author
pays particular attention to pulse oximeters, which are an affordable
clinical assessment tool and can easily be added to the equipment
already used by community nurses.