Comparison of Long Term Oxygen-Therapy (LTOT) and LTOT Combined with Sildenafil and Simvastatin in the Treatment of Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary (COPD) with Hypoxia at Rest and Severe Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Abstract

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension is frequent in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It increases the morbidity and mortality of patients with advanced stage of COPD. The use of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) and some other vasodilators seems necessary to prevent pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and right heart failure in these patients.

Editor's Note: Vascular Medicine and Surgery (Vol 5 Iss 4)

“…The article published by TranVan et al thus presented a detailed study that made a comparative assessment of the application of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) vs. LTOT and vasodilator drugs viz. sildenafil (PDE-5 inhibitor) and simvastatin (HMG CoA reductase inhibitor) [1]. The study most specifically studied the effect of the both on the possible changes in the pulmonary arterial pressure of COPD patients with hypoxia.…”