Respiratory rehabilitation in patients with stable COPD

Background: Respiratory rehabilitation (RR) has demonstrated efficacy within the comprehensive treatment of patients with stable COPD. Aim: To determine the clinical impact of RR in patients with stable COPD in our area. Methods: Descriptive analysis of the pre and post-intervention data of patients who during the last 6 years underwent an RR program. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS, version 22) software was used for statistical analysis. Results: 88 patients whose characteristics are shown in Table 1 were included. 71 (80.7%) completed the program. Two months after RR, significant differences in the 6-minute walking test (6MWT) with respect to baseline (X +38.4, SD 73.2, p There was a significant decrease in the assistance to the emergency services between the year before and after (0.89, SD 1.43 vs 0.55, SD 1.02; p 0.012). There were no differences in income or in the amount of days of admission. Conclusion: RR achieves a clinical improvement in patients with stable COPD. 6MWT is an useful tool to evaluate the effect of RR. It is important to refer patients with stable COPD to RR programs.