Are there differences in response to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and COPD patients?

Abstract

Background Guidelines recommend that IPF patients should be treated with PR, but most programmes are focused on COPD patients and may not be tailored for IPF. Also, due to the more rapid disease trajectory in IPF, there are concerns that high drop-out rates may limit PR benefits. Hence some aspects of PR may need to be tailored to IPF. Aim: To compare the PR completion rate and response in IPF patients with a matched group of COPD patients. Method: We conducted a case-control study of 163 consecutive IPF patients referred to PR and a control group of 163 COPD patients referred to the same programme, propensity score matched for age, sex, BMI, MRC, chronic respiratory questionnaire (CRQ), incremental shuttle walk (ISW). The CRQ, ISW and the Lung Information Needs Questionnaire (LINQ) were measured pre- and post-PR. Completion was defined as attendance of at least 8 sessions and post-PR assessment. Results: Completion rate was 69% for IPF and 63% for COPD (p=0.24). Improvements in ISW, CRQ and LINQ with PR were similar between the groups (Table 1). Conclusion: In this case control study, IPF patients achieved significant and similar improvements in exercise capacity, health status and information needs with non-tailored PR as COPD patients.