Source: Annual Congress 2006 - Training strategies and education in rehabilitation
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Pulmonary rehabilitation is an established and evidence based component of the multimodal treatment of chronic pulmonary diseases. Theoretically rehabilitation after acute disease episodes in high risk patients should be most beneficial. However, there are few data on the efficiency of the specialized pulmonary in-patient rehabilitation (AHB) instituted within 14 days after an acute disease episode, as praticed in Germany.
This observational multicenter study assessed changes in lung function, exercise capacity, symptoms and disease-related quality of life (QoL) in AHB patients.
A total of 207 patients with COPD (86), pneumonia (42), lung cancer (24), asthma (14), pulmonary embolism (7) or other pulmonary diseases (34) were prospectively followed up for 2 months after 3 weeks of rehabilitation. Measurements of lung function, exercise capacity (6 minute walk test) and QoL (SGRQ) were carried out at the initiation and end of AHB. Socioeconomic data and QoL were also recorded after 2 months.
AHB rehabilitation led to a significant and clinically relevant improvement of lung function, exercise capacity and QoL. Patients felt that rehabilitation was efficient (95%), recommendable (99%) and important (100%). Improvement of QoL was sustained after 2 months.
Our data demonstrate a number of clinically relevant benefits of in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation (AHB) immediately after severe disease episodes. This is in accordance with numerous investigations in patients with chronic stable disease. AHB pulmonary rehabilitation should be considered as mainstay treatment for patients who suffered acute deterioration of pulmonary disease.

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S. M. Lang, K. C. Bergmann, K. Kenn, W. Petro, R. Heitmann, R. Fischer, K. Schultz (Bad Reichenhall, Bad Lippspringe, Schönau am Königsse, Königsfeld im Schwarzwald, Munich, Pfronten, Germany). Improvements of lung function, exercise capacity, symptoms and disease-related quality of life (QoL) after in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation (AHB) in Germany. Eur Respir J 2006; 28: Suppl. 50, 3196

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