The effect of bronchodilators and oxygen alone and in combination on self-paced exercise performance in stable COPD.

Both oxygen therapy and bronchodilators reduce exertional breathlessness and improve exercise tolerance in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However their relative effectiveness and the value of their combined use on exercise performance has not been assessed. The effects of 5 mg of salbutamol plus 500 microg ipratropium bromide nebulisation followed by a 6-min walking test while breathing O(2) were studied in a randomised, single-blind, placebo controlled, crossover trial in 28 patients with severe or very severe COPD, breathless on exertion and with oxygen saturation < or = 89% at rest or on exercise.