Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate if the perimeter thoracic mobility (PTM) improvements could be identified by measuring its perimeter during pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), searching for its correlations with standards clinical and functional assessments. Design: A case series. Methods: Twenty patients underwent a PR and accessed the arterial blood gas analyses, FVC, FEV1, FEV/FEV1, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and the PTM measurement assessed at the angle of the Louis level and the xiphoid process level. Results: PR improved PTM on the angle of Louis (p=0.03) but not on the xiphoid process. These improvements are negatively correlated with improvements in PaCO2. Conclusions: In COPD patients, a successful PR is accompanied by a reduction of the upper chest wall resting perimeter and by an improvement of the perimeter thoracic mobility. Clinical relevance: The centimeter tape is a useful device able to identify PTM improvements in COPD patients.
Highlights
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms, which is due to airway abnormalities, destruction of the lung parenchyma decreasing the lung elastic recoil [1]
In COPD patients, a successful pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is accompanied by a reduction of the upper chest wall resting perimeter and by an improvement of the perimeter thoracic mobility
It has been speculated that motion abnormalities, progressive stiffening and alteration in regional volumes of the chest wall [3] may play a role in the onset of breathlessness during exercise in COPD patients
Summary
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms, which is due to airway abnormalities, destruction of the lung parenchyma decreasing the lung elastic recoil [1]. It has been speculated that motion abnormalities, progressive stiffening and alteration in regional volumes of the chest wall [3] may play a role in the onset of breathlessness during exercise in COPD patients. These changes raise the question of whether pulmonary rehabilitation can reduce abnormal chest wall movement in COPD patients, thereby restoring exercise capacity and reducing dyspnea [4]. The assessment of perimeter thoracic mobility (PTM) in clinical practice requires reliable measures that do not consume time and economic resources. Its reliability was confirmed by [7,8]
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