BACKGROUND Pulmonary rehabilitation is a well-recognized treatment option in chronic obstructive lung disease improving exercise performance, respiratory symptoms and quality of life. In occupational respiratory diseases, which can be rather cost-intensive due to the compensation needs, very little information is available. OBJECTIVES This study aims at the evaluation of the usefulness of pul...

BACKGROUND A self-reported CRQ (CRQ-SR) has recently been developed and found to be a reproducible and reliable measure of health status. This study explores both the sensitivity of the CRQ-SR and relative sensitivity compared with the conventional interviewer led CRQ (CRQ-IL) in patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation. METHODS Eighty patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary di...

Pulmonary rehabilitation is beneficial for patients with chronic lung disease. However, long-term maintenance has been difficult to achieve after short-term treatment. We evaluated a telephone-based maintenance program after pulmonary rehabilitation in 172 patients with chronic lung disease recruited from pulmonary rehabilitation graduates. Subjects were randomly assigned to a 12-month maintena...

BACKGROUND The synergistic interactions between pharmacotherapy and pulmonary rehabilitation has been provided, but it remains to be established whether this may also apply to more severe patients. OBJECTIVES We have examined whether tiotropium enhances the effects of exercise training in patients with advanced COPD (FEV(1)</=60% predicted, hypoxemia at rest corrected with oxygen supplementat...

Assessment techniques and treatment strategies, such as medical management, oxygen management, chest physical therapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation, for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are discussed. Clinically appropriate, evidence-based rehabilitation programs for home care may help to reduce care costs, reduce the impact of this chronic disease on patients with COP...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the only major chronic disease with increasing mortality [1], poses significant health care burden and resource use [2]. Pulmonary rehabilitation—a multidisciplinary, 6 to 8 week outpatient intervention that combines exercise with educational, behavioral, and psychosocial support—has emerged over the past decade as the gold standard for COPD care. N...

BACKGROUND The optimal way of assessing the impact of pulmonary rehabilitation on functional status in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is currently unknown. The minimal clinically important difference for the constant work rate cycling exercise test also needs to be investigated to facilitate its interpretation. A study was undertaken to evaluate the changes in the 6-min walking te...

Exercise based rehabilitation for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a new treatment option for these patients to improve their functional capacity and quality of life. Despite the benefits seen in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation in various other conditions, it has been underutilized for the patients with PAH. A review of currently registered ongoing trials on exercise traini...

C Incorvaia1*, E Makri1 and E Ridolo2 1Allergy, Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ASST Gaetano Pini/CTO, Milan, Italy 2Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Parma, Italy *Corresponding author: Cristoforo Incorvaia, Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ASST Gaetano Pini/CTO, Via Bignami, 20126 Milan, Italy, Tel: +390257993289; Fax: +390257993589; E-mail: cristoforo.inc...

BACKGROUND Home-based pulmonary rehabilitation is a promising intervention that may help patients to overcome the barriers to undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation. However, home-based pulmonary rehabilitation has not yet been investigated in patients with bronchiectasis. OBJECTIVES To investigate the effects of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with bronchiectasis. METHODS An o...