The usefulness of respiratory rehabilitation in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

BackgroundThere is a controversy about the additional benefit of various supplemental interventions used in clinical practice to further enhance the effectiveness of respiratory rehabilitation in patients with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this research was to assess randomised controlled trials (RCTs) testing the additional benefit of supplemental interventions during respiratory rehabilitation in COPD patients.MethodsSystematic review with literature searches in six electronic databases, extensive hand-searching and contacting of authors. Two reviewers selected independently eligible RCTs, rated the methodological quality and extracted the data, which were analyzed considering the minimal important difference of patient-important outcomes where possible.FindingsWe identified 20 RCTs whereof 18 provided sufficient data for analysis. The methodological quality was low and sample sizes were too small for most trials to produce meaningful results (median total sample size = 28). Data from five trials showed that supplemental oxygen during exercise did not have clinically meaningful effects on health-related quality of life while improvements of exercise capacity may be even larger for patients exercising on room air. RCTs of adding assisted ventilation, nutritional supplements or a number of anabolically acting drugs do not provide sufficient evidence for or against the use any of these supplemental interventions.InterpretationThere is insufficient evidence for most supplemental interventions during respiratory rehabilitation to estimate their additional value, partly due to methodological shortcomings of included RCTs. Current data do not suggest benefit from supplemental oxygen during exercise, although the methodological quality of included trials limits conclusions. To appropriately assess any of the various supplemental interventions used in clinical practice, pragmatic trials on respiratory rehabilitation of COPD patients need to consider methodological aspects as well as appropriate sample sizes.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was a significant public health concern, with smoking being the primary risk factor for its development and progression. The impact of smoking on respiratory rehabilitation efficacy in COPD patients remains an area of interest and investigation. This study aimed to assess the influence of smoking on the efficacy of respiratory rehabilitation in patients with COPD. Data of patients with COPD from October 2015 to October 2023 were retrospectively analyzed in this case-control study. The patients who had previously participated in a pulmonary rehabilitation program were excluded. Pulmonary function, exercise capacity, quality of life, and sleep patterns were evaluated before and after rehabilitation. A total of 40 patients were included and categorized into non-smoking (n=20) and smoking groups (n=20) based on their smoking history. Before rehabilitation, no significant differences were observed between the groups in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (P=0.96), forced vital capacity (FVC) (P=0.97), FEV1/FVC ratio (P=0.73), maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) (P=0.69), and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) (P=0.63). After rehabilitation, FEV1 (P=0.02), FVC (P=0.009), FEV1/FVC ratio (P=0.03), MVV (P=0.004), DLCO (P=0.01), these pulmonary functions for non-smokers were much better than the smokers. Similarly, the non-smoking group exhibited significantly greater improvements in 6-minute walk distance (P=0.03), peak oxygen consumption (VO2) (P=0.01), Borg scale ratings (P=0.02), St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) scores (P=0.004), and Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea scale scores (P=0.005) compared to the smoking group after rehabilitation. The non-smoking patients have more better quality of life compared to the smokers after rehabilitation, which demonstrated by the quality of life scores and Sleep Quality Score, including somatization (P=0.01), emotion management (P=0.009), role play (P=0.008), cognitive function (P=0.04), return to social function (P=0.01), Sleep Quality Score (P=0.02). Smoking negatively impacts the efficacy of respiratory rehabilitation in COPD patients, leading to poorer pulmonary function, exercise capacity, quality of life, and sleep patterns.

Post-ICU Syndrome (PICS) is a complex disease with multiple aspects, including physical, cognitive, and psychological health problems. Dysphagia persists in patients with PICS and is independently associated with adverse clinical outcomes after discharge. With the development of the level of intensive care, dysphagia of PICS needs more attention. Although several risk factors related to dysphagia in PICS have been proposed, the exact mechanism is still unclear. Respiratory rehabilitation is an important non-pharmacological therapy, which offers short-and long-term rehabilitation in critical patients, but its application is insufficient in dysphagia of PICS. In view of the lack of consensus on the rehabilitation treatment of dysphagia after PICS currently, the article elaborates on the related concepts, epidemiology, potential mechanisms and the application of respiratory rehabilitation in patients with dysphagia of PICS, in order to provide a reference for the clinical development of respiratory rehabilitation in patients with dysphagia of PICS.

This review aims to compare the outcomes of preoperative respiratory rehabilitation in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with cardiopulmonary bypass (on-pump) versus without cardiopulmonary bypass (off-pump). The focus is on the reduction of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) and improvements in pulmonary function and arterial blood gases. Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria for this review, drawn from an initial screening of 13 citations. One study presented a combined analysis of two trials, resulting in data from seven distinct trials explicitly comparing pulmonary function and arterial blood gas outcomes between on-pump and off-pump CABG patients. Several studies emphasized the potential benefits of integrating preoperative respiratory rehabilitation with surgical approaches to improve patient outcomes. Pulmonary dysfunction remains a significant adverse consequence of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), contributing to postoperative morbidity. Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) has gained popularity in recent years due to its association with fewer pulmonary complications. Multiple studies report marked improvements in postoperative pulmonary function tests in OPCAB patients, including higher oxygen saturation (SpO2 > 95%) and reduced extubation times (<48 hours), compared to those undergoing on-pump CABG. Preoperative respiratory rehabilitation in CABG patients significantly reduces the risk of PPCs, shortens hospital stays, and facilitates earlier extubation. These findings support the incorporation of respiratory rehabilitation, including inspiratory muscle training, into routine preoperative care to enhance patient recovery. Further research is needed to assess the efficacy of combined physiotherapy interventions in patients undergoing CABG.

Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) after esophagectomy have been reported to occur in 15.9-30% of patients and lead to increased postoperative morbidity and mortality, prolonged duration of hospital stay, and additional medical costs. The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the possible prevention of PPCs by intensive preoperative respiratory rehabilitation in esophageal cancer patients who underwent esophagectomy. The subjects included 100 patients (87 males and 13 females with mean age 66.5 ± 8.6 years) who underwent esophagectomy. They were divided into two groups: 63 patients (53 males and 10 females with mean age 67.4 ± 9.0 years) in the preoperative rehabilitation (PR) group and 37 patients (34 males and 3 females with mean age 65.0 ± 7.8 years) in the non-PR (NPR) group. The PR group received sufficient preoperative respiratory rehabilitation for >7 days, and the NPR group insufficiently received preoperative respiratory rehabilitation or none at all. The results of the logistic regression analysis and multivariate analysis to correct for all considerable confounding factors revealed the rates of PPCs of 6.4% and 24.3% in the PR group and NPR group, respectively. The PR group demonstrated a significantly less incidence rate of PPCs than the NPR group (odds ratio: 0.14, 95% confidential interval: 0.02~0.64). [Correction added after online publication 25 June 2012: confidence interval has been changed from -1.86~ -0.22] This study showed that the intensive preoperative respiratory rehabilitation reduced PPCs in esophageal cancer patients who underwent esophagectomy.

Objective of the Review: To summarise the data from literature sources on respiratory rehabilitation of patients with the novel coronavirus infection; to assess the current state and perspectives. Key Points. The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease with primary involvement of upper and lower respiratory tract, organs and systems of the body. The symptoms of the disease vary from asymptomatic carrier to clinically severe viral pneumonia that requires oxygen therapy and respiratory support. Respiratory rehabilitation is vital for patient recovery. Globally, there is more and more professional information and databases on respiratory rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients, since the common methods of rehabilitation after a respiratory disease can be ineffective or unsafe. Conclusion. Respiratory rehabilitation should be an integral part of COVID-19 therapy, starting from ICU once the patient’s condition has stabilised. Rehabilitation should be personalised. Future studies will help in understanding the development path of pulmonary rehabilitation in order to improve the quality of patients’ life and to facilitate faster activity restoration. Keywords: rehabilitation, respiratory rehabilitation, coronavirus infection, COVID-19, breathing exercises.

Walk a Mile in My Shoes: Assessing the Importance of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Objectives: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is generally used to evaluate endurance in interstitial lung disease (ILD). In ILD, treatment efficacy differs between patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and those with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (non-IPF), and the clinical profile varies according to disease severity. This study compared 6MWT parameters by severity of illness in patients with IPF and non-IPF. Methods: The participants were hospitalized patients with ILD and either IPF (n = 20) or non-IPF (n = 25). To compare IPF and non-IPF by severity, patients were classified using the gender–age–physiology (GAP) index as having GAP stage I (i.e., mild) or GAP stage II/III (i.e., moderate to severe). The evaluation parameters were the 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), minimum percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate recovery at 1 minute (HRR1) after the 6MWT, and modified Borg scale rating of perceived exertion. Results: The minimum SpO2 value during exertion was significantly lower in the IPF group than in the non-IPF group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, when comparing by severity, patients with IPF and GAP stage I had a significantly lower 6MWD, HRR1, and SpO2 value. In patients with GAP stage II/III, there were no significant differences in 6MWD, SpO2 values, or dyspnea. Conclusions: Patients with mild IPF were more prone to hypoxemia, while in moderate-to-severe cases, we observed no significant hypoxemia- or endurance-related differences between IPF and non-IPF patients. This study highlights the importance of severity-based evaluation, particularly in guiding individualized rehabilitation and risk management for patients with IPF.

Familial pulmonary fibrosis is the strongest risk factor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Patients with SMID (severe motor and intellectual disabilities) have severe limb disorders and severe mental disabilities. More than half of their deaths are due to respiratory disorders. Therefore, respiratory rehabilitation is important. The effect of respiratory rehabilitation is generally determined by measuring respiratory volume and rate with an expired gas analyzer. However, the equipment is expensive and requires direct contact, making it difficult to use. The purpose of this research is to develop a non-contact measurement system for respiratory function to assess the effect of respiratory rehabilitation in patients with SMID. The proposed method detects respiration by depth change of the abdomen measured using a three-dimensional camera designed to identify body tremor /motion and respiration based on respiratory parameters and individually adapted parameters. Finally, we verify the rehabilitation effect of an RTX respirator on patients with SMID and the effectiveness of the proposed method in an experiment.

Background: The entity of idiopathic pulmonary upper lobe fibrosis (IPUF) was first described in Japan before the disease entity of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) was reported［1］. It is now recognized that IPUF and PPFE are similar entities. No reports have compared clinical characteristics of these disease entity and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Methods: Fifteen patients with IPUF, and 61 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) were retrospectively enrolled. Baseline clinical characteristics, erector spinae muscles assessed by computed tomography (CT)［2］, and prognosis were compared. Furthermore, Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed in both group. Results: Body mass index was significantly lower in IPUF than in IPF (P Conclusions: IPUF have the characteristics of leanness, but may have much muscle mass, compared with IPF. The prognosis of IPF was poorer as compared with that of IPUF. In the IPUF group, lower erector spinae muscles mass by CT was a prognostic factor.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is an interdisciplinary program of care for patients with chronic respiratory disorders, created individually and aimed at physical and social indicators and autonomy optimizing. Physical therapists in an interdisciplinary palliative care team are key to the success of pulmonary rehabilitation for palliative patients, focusing on the physical functioning.Objective — to review the data from literature references regarding the characteristics and usage frequency of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with respiratory diseases who require palliative and hospice care, and to specify respiratory diseases in palliative care patients for which pulmonary rehabilitation is currently used. As a result of the literature review, it was established that pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic respiratory diseases who require palliative and hospice care is aimed at improving pulmonary symptoms (shortness of breaths) and functional status, reducing the intensity of accompanying symptoms, even in the late stages of the disease, which ultimately contributes improving the quality of life and survival of patients, reducing the burden on those who care for them. But access to physical (pulmonary) rehabilitation for patients with chronic respiratory diseases who need palliative and hospice care, is currently not routine in practice and not used enough around the world, unfortunately. It was found that today pulmonary rehabilitation in palliative patients is used only for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, interstitial lung diseases, cystic fibrosis, sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and bronchiectasis. At the same time, the literature does not describe the use of physical therapy methods, including pulmonary rehabilitation, in patients with bronchial asthma who require palliative treatment. Pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic respiratory diseases who require palliative and hospice care is a relevant and effective method of treatment, but needs wider implementation in the modern health care system.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is characterised by reduced functional capacity, dyspnoea and exercise-induced hypoxia. Pulmonary rehabilitation, an intervention that includes exercise training, is beneficial for people with other chronic lung conditions; however its effects in ILD have not been well characterised. • To determine whether pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with ILD has beneficial effects on exercise capacity, symptoms, quality of life and survival compared with no pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with ILD.• To assess the safety of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with ILD. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2014, Issue 6), MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (EBSCO) and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) (all searched from inception to June 2014). We also searched the reference lists of relevant studies, international clinical trial registries and respiratory conference abstracts to look for qualifying studies. Randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials in which pulmonary rehabilitation was compared with no pulmonary rehabilitation or with other therapy in people with ILD of any origin were included. Two review authors independently selected trials for inclusion, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Study authors were contacted to provide missing data and information regarding adverse effects. A priori subgroup analyses were specified for participants with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and participants with severe lung disease (low diffusing capacity or desaturation during exercise). We planned to subgroup according to training modality applied, but there were insufficient data. Nine studies were included, six of which were published as abstracts. Five studies were included in the meta-analysis (86 participants who undertook pulmonary rehabilitation and 82 control participants). One study used a blinded assessor and intention-to-treat analysis. No adverse effects of pulmonary rehabilitation were reported. Pulmonary rehabilitation improved the six-minute walk distance with weighted mean difference (WMD) of 44.34 metres (95% confidence interval (CI) 26.04 to 62.64 metres) and improved oxygen consumption (VO2) peak with WMD of 1.24 mL/kg/min(-1) (95% CI 0.46 to 2.03 mL/kg/min(-1)). Improvements in six-minute walk distance and VO2 peak were also seen in the subgroup of participants with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (WMD 35.63 metres, 95% CI 16.02 to 55.23 metres; WMD 1.46 mL/kg/min(-1), 95% CI 0.54 to 2.39 mL/kg/min(-1), respectively). Reduced dyspnoea (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.66, 95% CI -1.05 to -0.28) following pulmonary rehabilitation was also seen in the IPF subgroup (SMD -0.68, 95% CI -1.12 to -0.25). Quality of life improved following pulmonary rehabilitation for all participants on a variety of measures (SMD 0.59, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.98) and for the subgroup of people with IPF (SMD 0.59, 95% CI 0.14 to 1.03). Two studies reported longer-term outcomes, with no significant effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on clinical variables or survival at three or six months. Available data were insufficient to allow examination of the impact of disease severity or exercise training modality. Pulmonary rehabilitation seems to be safe for people with ILD. Improvements in functional exercise capacity, dyspnoea and quality of life are seen immediately following pulmonary rehabilitation, with benefits also evident in IPF. Because of inadequate reporting of methods and small numbers of included participants, the quality of evidence was low to moderate. Little evidence was available regarding longer-term effects of pulmonary rehabilitation.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and COPD: A Propensity-Matched Real-World Study

Background: While the efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been well established, emerging evidence also suggests its benefit in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). However, the differences and similarities between how PR affects diseases with different physiologies remain unknown. Objective: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of PR in COPD and IPF patients by performing multifactorial evaluation with various exercise capacity measurements, and dyspnea and health-related quality of life (QoL) assessment. Methods: Twenty-two IPF patients (%vital capacity: 72%) and 27 COPD patients (%forced expiratory volume1: 43%) were recruited. Subjects who completed a 10-week outpatient PR program were analyzed. We assessed five exercise capacity indicators (6-minute walking distance, incremental shuttle walking distance, endurance time, peak work rate, and peak values for oxygen uptake [peak VO2]), dyspnea (Baseline Dyspnea Index: BDI), and health-related QoL (St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire: SGRQ) at baseline and immediately following completion of the PR program. Results: After 10 weeks of PR, all exercise capacity measurements, except VO2, as well as BDI and SGRQ score improved significantly (p<0.05) in both disease groups. The magnitude of the observed changes in each outcome, assessed by the effect size, was comparable between IPF and COPD patients. This was also true for endurance time, the measurement most responsive to PR, with a large effect size. Conclusions: PR can result in comparable improvements in exercise capacity, including endurance time, and dyspnea and HRQoL in both IPF and COPD patients after 10 weeks of exercise training. (Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2017; 34: 283-289).