Abstract
CONTEXT:
International guidelines recommend the routine use of oxygen therapy in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI).
OBJECTIVE:
To undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled trials of oxygen therapy in MI.
DATA SOURCES:
Medline, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE and CINHAL.
STUDY SELECTION:
Randomised placebo-controlled trials of oxygen therapy in MI.
DATA EXTRACTION:
The primary clinical outcome was mortality.
RESULTS:
Two of 51 potential studies met the inclusion criteria. The one study with substantive clinical outcome data reported that in uncomplicated MI, high-flow oxygen was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (risk ratio 2.9, 95% CI 0.8 to 10.3, p = 0.08) and a greater serum aspartate aminotransferase level (difference 19.2 IU/ml, 95% CI 0 to 38.4, p = 0.05) than room air.
CONCLUSION:
The limited evidence that does exist suggests that the routine use of high-flow oxygen in uncomplicated MI may result in a greater infarct size and possibly increase the risk of mortality.