Alex Duarte and his team at UTMB have found that patients with COPD receiving home oxygen have a higher risk of burn injury in a study recently published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Physicians prescribing oxygen to patients with COPD struggle to balance the benefits with the risk of fire hazard in patients who continue to smoke. The number of active smokers prescribed oxygen is estimated to be 15 to 25 percent. The study examined the risk of burn injury in patients with COPD receiving home oxygen and evaluated the factors associated with the risk of burn injury. The news also appears in Health Canal, Science Newsline, The Medical News and Bright Surf, among others.