Effects of short-term pulmonary rehabilitation on exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Although the rehabilitation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improves both exercise capacity and quality of life, a stand ard protocol for COPD patients has not been established. To clarify whether physiologic and quality-of-life improvements can be achieved by an inpatie nt pulmonary rehabilitation program 5 days per week for 3 weeks, 18 patient s with COPD were enrolled in a rehabilitation program. The physical exercis e training regimen consisted of respiratory muscle stretch gymnastics and c ycle ergometer exercise training. Pulmonary function tests, an incremental ergometer exercise test, a 6-min walking test, and a quality of life assess ment by the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire were administered before and after the program. The peak (V) over dot O-2, an indicator of maximal exerc ise capacity, did not increase, although the 6-min walking distance, an ind icator of functional exercise capacity, increased significantly after rehab ilitation. There was a significant improvement in the quality of life in te rms of dyspnea, fatigue, and emotional state. These findings suggest that e ven a 3-week program may be beneficial for COPD patients. Increases in func tional exercise capacity, even without an increase in maximal exercise capa city, are helpful for reducing dyspnea and improving quality of life parame ters in patients with COPD.