ABSTRACT BACKGROUND:

For critically ill patients, physicians tend to administer sufficient or even excessive oxygen to maintain oxygen saturation at a high level. However, the credibility of the evidence for this practice is unclear.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the effects of different oxygen therapy strategies on the outcomes of mechanically ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

DESIGN AND SETTING:

Systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis conducted at Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated to Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.

METHODS:

We systematically searched electronic databases such as PubMed and Embase for relevant articles and performed meta-analyses on the effects of different oxygen therapy strategies on the outcomes of mechanically ventilated ICU patients.

RESULTS:

A total of 1802 patients from five studies were included. There were equal numbers of patients in the conservative and liberal groups (n = 910 in each group). There was no significant difference between the conservative and liberal groups with regard to 28-day mortality (risk ratio, RR = 0.88; 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.59-1.32; P = 0.55; I2 = 63%). Ninety-day mortality, infection rates, ICU length of stay, mechanical ventilation-free days up to day 28 and vasopressor-free days up to day 28 were comparable between the two strategies.

CONCLUSIONS:

It is not necessary to use liberal oxygen therapy strategies to pursue a higher level of peripheral oxygen saturation for mechanically ventilated ICU patients. Conservative oxygen therapy was not associated with any statistically significant reduction in mortality.