The functional impact of an individualized, graded, outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation in end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective luate the functional impact of an individualized outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program in end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). s ts with end-stage COPD were admitted into a 6-week comprehensive outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program that was “packaged” for each patient. We compared spirometric parameters, exercise tolerance, level of breathlessness, and intensity of work before and after rehabilitation. s eligible patients, only 14 consented to participate in the study. All 14 patients had forced expiratory volume in 1 second <35% of predicted, and 10 patients (72%) had a 6-minute walk test <180 m. The level of breathlessness was between 7 (moderate to severely breathless) and 10 (maximally breathless) on the Visual Analogue Scale in all patients. After the program, there was significant improvement in the FEV1 P = 0.04), forced vital capacity P = 0.0045), 6-minute walk test P = 0.00047), and shuttle-walk test (9 of 14 patients). All patients had some improvement in level of dyspnea. sions dualized outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation in end-stage COPD can produce a measurable improvement in spirometry and exercise tolerance with a favorable impact on the level of physical activity.