Pulmonary rehabilitation provides essential benefits for patients with COPD, including decreased symptoms, improved exercise tolerance and health-related quality of life, and reduced health care utilization.
Does pulmonary rehabilitation improve symptoms, exercise tolerance, and health-related quality of life in symptomatic patients with COPD?
Pulmonary rehabilitation is an essential, guideline-recommended intervention for symptomatic COPD patients that breaks the cycle of dyspnea and deconditioning to improve quality of life.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an obstructive and progressive airway disease associated with an important reduction in daily physical activity and psychological problems that contribute to the patient's disability and poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Nowadays, pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) plays an essential role in the management of symptomatic patients with COPD, by breaking the vicious circle of dyspnea-decreased activity-deconditioning-isolation. Indeed the main benefits of comprehensive PR programs for patients with COPD include a decrease in symptoms (dyspnea and fatigue), improvements in exercise tolerance and HRQoL, reduction of health care utilization (particularly bed-days), as well as an increase in physical activity. Several randomized studies and meta-analyses greatly established the benefits of PR, which additionally, is recommended in a number of influential guidelines. This review aimed to highlight the impact of PR on COPD patients, focusing on the clinical usefulness of PR, which provides patients a good support for change.
Corhay et al. (2013) conducted a review in Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Pulmonary rehabilitation was evaluated. Pulmonary rehabilitation provides essential benefits for patients with COPD, including decreased symptoms, improved exercise tolerance and health-related quality of life, and reduced health care utilization.