Oxygen therapy for acutely ill medical patients: a clinical practice guideline

### What you need to know What is the best way to use oxygen therapy for patients with an acute medical illness? A systematic review published in the Lancet in April 2018 found that supplemental oxygen in inpatients with normal oxygen saturation increases mortality.1 Its authors concluded that oxygen should be administered conservatively, but they did not make specific recommendations on how to do it. An international expert panel used that review to inform this guideline. It aims to promptly and transparently translate potentially practice-changing evidence to usable recommendations for clinicians and patients.2 The panel used the GRADE framework and following standards for trustworthy guidelines.3 The panel asked; The panel makes a strong recommendation for maintaining an oxygen saturation of no more than 96% in acutely ill medical patients (upper limit). The panel did not make a recommendation on when to start (the lower limit) for …