Long-term pulmonary rehabilitation program benefits COPD patients, Finds study

Written By : Dr. Nandita Mohan |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2021-05-01T09:00:17+05:30 | Updated On 1 May 2021 12:59 PM IST

Recent research has revealed that contrast to short-term PR, long-term PR maintenance appeared more beneficial in less severe COPD patients, as published in the Journal of Respiratory Research.

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) improves exercise capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and dyspnea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Maintenance programs can sustain the benefits for 12 to 24 months. Yet, the long-term effects (> 12 months) of pragmatic maintenance programs in real-life settings remain unknown.

Hence, the team from the Montpellier University, Montpellier, France lead by Léo Blervaque conducted a prospective cohort study wherein they assessed the yearly evolution in the outcomes [6-min walking distance (6MWD), HRQoL, dyspnea] of a supervised self-help PR maintenance program for COPD patients followed for 5 years.

The aim was to assess the change in the outcomes and survival probability for 1 to 5 years after PR program discharge in COPD patients following a PR maintenance program supported by supervised self-help associations.

Data were prospectively collected from 144 COPD patients who followed a pragmatic multidisciplinary PR maintenance program for 1 to 5 years. They were assessed yearly for 6MWD, HRQol (VQ11) and dyspnea (MRC).

The 5-year survival probability was compared to that of a control PR group without a maintenance program. A trajectory-based cluster analysis identified the determinants of long-term response.

The results revealed that the maintenance program patients showed significant PR benefits at 4 years for 6MWD and VQ11 and 5 years for MRC. The 5-year survival probability was higher than for PR patients without PR maintenance. Two clusters of response to long-term PR were identified, with responders being the less severe COPD patients, explained Blervaque.

Therefore, the authors concluded that "this study provides evidence of the efficacy of a pragmatic PR maintenance program in a real-life setting for more than 3 years. In contrast to short-term PR, long-term PR maintenance appeared more beneficial in less severe COPD patients."

pulmonary rehabilitationmaintenance programlong-termCOPDJournal of Respiratory Research

Source : Journal of Respiratory Research

Dr. Nandita Mohan

BDS, MDS( Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry)

Dr. Nandita Mohan is a practicing pediatric dentist with more than 5 years of clinical work experience. Along with this, she is equally interested in keeping herself up to date about the latest developments in the field of medicine and dentistry which is the driving force for her to be in association with Medical Dialogues. She also has her name attached with many publications; both national and international. She has pursued her BDS from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore and later went to enter her dream specialty (MDS) in the Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry from Pt. B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciences. Through all the years of experience, her core interest in learning something new has never stopped. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751