6+25+25 does not equal 2LPM

I'm always left shaking my head at the amount of oxygen tubing that some of our COPD patients have throughout their house. The most recent one had a total of 56ft of oxygen tubing with a concentrator set at 2LPM. Complaint? Can't breathe after putting away laundry.

O2 sats were in the low 80's.

Pt is normally sedentary and hasn't attempted doing housework for over 2 months (it was obvious).

Pt was adament that she must have gotten pneumonia walking around her house within the past 15 minutes.

While taking her hx and writing down meds, we attached her 6ft cannula to our portable bottle at 2LPM. After about 3 minutes, she stated that she feels "a lot better." Imagine that!

When my partner and I tried to explain WHY she feels better, the patient pretty much told us that we were stupid. She informed us that her home health service oxygen "delivery man"(the ones that brought out the initial 25ft tubing and 6ft cannula) had told her that it would be fine to attach another 25ft section of tubing so that she could walk around the house, when she asked him earlier today. Quote: "they actually KNOW what they're talkin' about 'cause they do this all the time!" Yes, somebody who brought you an oxygen concentrator and delivers oxygen bottles to your house, with absolutely no medical knowledge, knows more about oxygen concentration percentages than the two of us, who have actually had some schooling and knowledge in this area. When I asked if the "delivery man" actually takes her vitals and checks her oxygen level, the pt got pissed off and stated that she didn't "want no man touchin' me that I don't know!"

In the end, we ended up explaining oxygen delivery like a water hose outside. Apparently she used to like to garden, so this made sense to her (we ended up talking about her now-dead vegetable garden).

Of course, she refused to go to the hospital. We shortened her hose back down to just the 25ft tubing with her cannula since "without that tubing, I just strangle cause I go to walk and get pulled right back with this thing around my neck."

Sigh. Really? Oh yeah, she's been on home oxygen for over a year now.