Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2008 Aug;134(2):273-280.
doi: 10.1378/chest.07-2655. Epub 2008 Apr 10.

Are patients with COPD more active after pulmonary rehabilitation?

Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Are patients with COPD more active after pulmonary rehabilitation?

Fábio Pitta et al. Chest. 2008 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Despite a variety of benefits brought by pulmonary rehabilitation to patients with COPD, it is unclear whether these patients are more active during daily life after the program.

Methods: Physical activities in daily life (activity monitoring), pulmonary function (spirometry), exercise capacity (incremental cycle-ergometer testing and 6-min walk distance testing), muscle force (quadriceps and handgrip force, and inspiratory and expiratory maximal pressures), quality of life (chronic respiratory disease questionnaire), and functional status (pulmonary functional status and dyspnea questionnaire-modified version) were assessed at baseline, after 3 months of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program, and at the end of a 6-month multidisciplinary rehabilitation program in 29 patients (mean [+/- SD] age, 67 +/- 8 years; FEV(1), 46 +/- 16% predicted).

Results: Exercise capacity, muscle force, quality of life, and functional status improved significantly after 3 months of pulmonary rehabilitation (all p < 0.05), with further improvements in muscle force, functional status, and quality of life at 6 months. Movement intensity during walking improved significantly after 3 months (p = 0.046) with further improvements after 6 months (p = 0.0002). Walking time in daily life did not improve significantly at 3 months (mean improvement, 7 +/- 35%; p = 0.21), but only after 6 months (mean improvement, 20 +/- 36%; p = 0.008). No significant changes occurred in other activities or in the pattern of the time spent walking in daily life. Changes in dyspnea after the program were significantly related to changes in walking time in daily life (r = 0.43; p = 0.02).

Conclusion: If one aims at changing physical activity habits in the daily life of COPD patients, the contribution of long-lasting programs might be important.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources