The effect of lung volume reduction on the success of physical activity coaching in patients with severe COPD

Abstract

Introduction: In severe emphysema, endoscopic and surgical lung volume reduction (resp. ELVR; LVRS) are treatment options improving lung function and physical functioning. Whether lung volume reduction (LVR) enhances the success of physical activity (PA) coaching is unknown. Methods: To investigate the effect of LVR preceding a 3-month PA coaching, 42 patients were included. Patients were allocated to ELVR (n=23) or standard of care (SOC) (n=19) based on collateral ventilation (measured by Chartis). All patients received PA coaching with step counter and smartphone application from 3 to 6m post allocation. PA was measured objectively; patients’ experience with PA was measured by the PROactive tool. After 6m, patients in SOC (n=14) underwent LVRS, again followed by PA coaching. Results: At 6 months, PA in both ELVR (p= 0.01) and SOC (p=0.01) improved within group, with no significant between-group differences (p=0.46) (fig 1). Perceived difficulty with PA at 6 months improved in ELVR (p Conclusion: In contrast to our hypothesis, lung volume reduction is no prerequisite for PA coaching; response to coaching seems independent of lung function improvement. LVR tends to improve perceived difficulty with PA.