Impact of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme on respiratory parameters and health care utilization in patients with chronic lung diseases other than COPD

Background and Aim. To develop a simple and easy home-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme and investigate its effectiveness. Methods. Patients with stable chronic lung disease were divided into a rehabilitation group (n = 25) and a control group (n = 18). Rehabilitation consisted of education and 12 weeks of enforced aerobic and musclestrengthening exercises. Aerobic exercise training was performed mostly by walking based on the functional capacity of the patients assessed by the maximal incremental exercise test. Patients visited hospital every two weeks for evaluation and a new exercise regimen. Results. Five patients dropped out of the rehabilitation group but three were due to development of unrelated diseases, five controls did not co-operate in the second evaluation. After 12 weeks of rehabilitation, exercise capacity (maximum work load and VO2max), exercise endurance, 6-minute walking distance, and quality of life measured by the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire had significantly improved in the rehabilitation group but not in the controls. At a follow-up evaluation one year after the rehabilitation, some exercise parameters were still significantly higher than baseline in the rehabilitation group. Conclusions. We developed a simple home-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme, which seems to be clinically feasible and effective.

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At home with pulmonary rehabilitation

Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine ◽

10.4081/mrm.2010.559 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Richard ZuWallack

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Care Utilization ◽

Exercise Capacity ◽

Pulmonary Rehabilitation ◽

Respiratory Diseases ◽

Care Utilization ◽

Chronic Respiratory Diseases ◽

At Home

Pulmonary rehabilitation results in substantial and clinically meaningful improvements in dyspnea, exercise capacity and quality of life for patients with chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD. There is also evidence indicating that pulmonary re- habilitation reduces subsequent health care utilization and – perhaps – mortality, if the intervention is given in the post-exacerbation period.

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There’s no place like home: Integrating pulmonary rehabilitation into the home setting

Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease ◽

10.4081/monaldi.2017.859 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 87 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Madalina Macrea ◽

Richard ZuWallack ◽

Linda Nici

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Utilization ◽

Exercise Capacity ◽

Pulmonary Rehabilitation ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Care Utilization ◽

Patient Centered ◽

Home Setting ◽

Home Based ◽

Related Quality

<p>Traditional, outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation provided to stable COPD patients leads to significant improvements in dyspnea, exercise capacity and health related quality of life. Also, when started during or shortly after a hospitalization for a COPD exacerbation, pulmonary rehabilitation improves these patient-centered outcomes and arguably reduces subsequent health care utilization and mortality. Despite these benefits, the uptake of traditional pulmonary rehabilitation remains disappointingly poor. Home-based pulmonary rehabilitation, a safe and effective alternative to traditional, center-based programs, can broaden access. While proven improvements in dyspnea, exercise capacity and health status justify implementation of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation, it would be helpful to know whether it can also decrease health care utilization and be cost-effective. </p>

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