Current best practice in pulmonary rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic condition that negatively affects several patient-centered outcomes. Among these, exercise capacity, dyspnea, and quality of life are the most relevant. In this article, factors contributing to exercise limitation, increase in exercise-induced dyspnea, quality of life deterioration, and other pathophysiological aspects in patients with COPD are analyzed in detail. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an evidence-based, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive intervention for patients with chronic respiratory diseases who are symptomatic and often have decreased daily life activities. PR has been clearly shown to induce favorable and long-lasting effects on all patient-centered outcomes. In addition, PR appears to have positive (even if not conclusively demonstrated) effects on other important outcomes in patients with COPD: number and severity of exacerbations, healthcare resource utilization, and survival. The organization of PR treatment, its components...