Clinical observation of bundled pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with severe and very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective To explore the efficiency of bundled pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with severe and very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods One hundred and thirty consecutive patients with acute exacerbation of severe and very severe COPD admitted in our hospital from Jan.2014 to Jun.2015 were randomly divided into two groups: pulmonary rehabilitation group(65 cases) and control group(65 cases). All patients in the two groups were given the conventional treatment, but patients in pulmonary rehabilitation group were given bundled pulmonary rehabilitation when the acute exacerbation were relived.The differences in FVC, FVC%pred, FEV1, FEV1%pred, 6 minute's walking distance(6MWD) and St George's respiratory questionnaire(SGRQ) were analyzed before and after the treatment in the two groups. Results After three months' treatment, the FVC, FVC%pred, FEV1, FEV1%pred in PR group were significantly higher than the control group.The 6MWD after treating for three months in PR group were significantly longer than treatment before [(206.50±34.01) m vs (183.73±31.65) m, P<0.05], and longer than the control group [(206.50±34.01) m vs (183.80±20.58) m, P<0.05]. The SGRQ scores in pulmonary rehabilitation group were significantly improved after three months' treatment [(60.83±5.78) vs (64.87±5.03), P<0.05], and were improved better than the control group after six months [(57.53±6.04) vs (63.55±6.84), P<0.05]. The number of readmission in the following twelve months were reduced than the control group [(0.97±0.72) vs (1.56±0.89), P<0.05]. Conclusions The early treatment of bundled pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with severe and very severe COPD can improve the pulmonary function, exercise capacity and quality of life, and was worthy of widely promoted. Key words: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Pulmonary rehabilitation; Bundled