scholarly journals Using Telehealth Technology to Deliver Pulmonary Rehabilitation to Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 216-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael K Stickland ◽  
Tina Jourdain ◽  
Eric YL Wong ◽  
Wendy M Rodgers ◽  
Nicholas G Jendzjowsky ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an effective therapeutic strategy to improve health outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, there is insufficient PR capacity to service all COPD patients, thus necessitating creative solutions to increase the availability of PR.OBJECTIVE: To examine the efficacy of PR delivered via Telehealth (Telehealth-PR) compared with PR delivered in person through a standard outpatient hospital-based program (Standard-PR).METHODS: One hundred forty-seven COPD patients participated in an eight-week rural PR program delivered via Telehealth-PR. Data were compared with a parallel group of 262 COPD patients who attended Standard-PR. Education sessions were administered two days per week via Telehealth, and patients exercised at their satellite centre under direct supervision. Standard-PR patients viewed the same education sessions in person and exercised at the main PR site. The primary outcome measure was change in quality of life as evaluated by the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). A noninferiority analysis was performed using both intention-to-treat and per-protocol approaches.RESULTS: Both Telehealth-PR and Standard-PR resulted in clinically and statistically significant improvements in SGRQ scores (4.5±0.8% versus 4.1±0.6%; P<0.05 versus baseline for both groups), and the improvement in SGRQ was not different between the two programs. Similarly, exercise capacity, as assessed by 12 min walk test, improved equally in both Telehealth-PR and Standard-PR programs (81±10 m versus 82±10 m; P<0.05 versus baseline for both groups).CONCLUSION: Telehealth-PR was an effective tool for increasing COPD PR services, and demonstrated improvements in quality of life and exercise capacity comparable with Standard-PR.

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 147997231880947
Author(s):  
Ilknur Naz ◽  
Hulya Sahin ◽  
Yelda Varol ◽  
Berna Kömürcüoğlu

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not only associated with respiratory system involvement but also with systemic consequences leading to chronic comorbidities. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of comorbidity severity on pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) outcomes in COPD patients. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare the effectiveness of PR in COPD patients who completed an 8-week PR program. There were at least one comorbid in 120 of 211 patients and we divided them into the groups according to Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) scores (1 points, group 1 ( n = 54); 2 points, group 2 ( n = 41); 3 points, group 3 ( n = 25)). We compared 6-minute walk distance (MWD), dyspnea perception, pulmonary function tests, blood gases analysis, quality of life, anxiety, and depression scores which were recorded before and after PR between the groups. Before PR 6-MWD distance was significantly lower in group 2 ( p = 0.033). Improvements in 6-MWD, blood gas values, dyspnea perception, quality of life, and anxiety were determined in all groups after PR ( p < 0.05). When the gains after PR were compared, there were no significant differences between groups ( p > 0.05). COPD patients benefit from PR independent from their comorbidity severity. Comorbidity severity has no effect on PR gains. Therefore, patients with comorbidities should not be excluded from PR programs and encouraged to participate. Clinical Trial Number: NCT03319108.


Author(s):  
Somayeh Ghadimi ◽  
Atefeh Fakharian ◽  
Mohsen Abedi ◽  
Reyhaneh Zahiri ◽  
Mahsan Norouz Afjeh ◽  
...  

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) leads to limited activity and reduced quality of life. Treatment of this disease is a long-term process that requires the cooperation of patients in monitoring and treatment. Methods: In the present study which was conducted from April 2019 to March 2021 in Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Tehran, Iran, 75 patients were randomly divided into telerehabilitation and control groups. Patients in the control group received pulmonary rehabilitation including respiratory, isometric, and aerobic exercises for 8 weeks, three times per week. In the second group, patients were given a lung rehabilitation booklet and asked to repeat the exercises three times a week for four weeks according to a specific schedule. In addition, patients installed Behzee care application on the mobile phone that recorded various indicators such as heart rate, SpO2, dyspnea, fatigue, and daily activities. This application reminded the patient of the program every day and at a specific time. Finally, the patients’ conditions were compared in the two groups after 8 weeks using CAT and mMRC questionnaires and 6-Minute Walk (6MW) exercise indices as well as spirometry tests. Results: In all four indicators (6MW, CAT,  and mMRC questionnaires as well as spirometry), patients showed improvement after rehabilitation (p<0.001). This improvement was significantly higher in the telemedicine group compared to the other group (p<0.01). Conclusion: The use of telerehabilitation in COPD patients is effective in improving spirometry indices, quality of life, as well as activity and sports indices.


2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1668-1670
Author(s):  
Mykola M. Ostrovskyy ◽  
Nadiia V. Korzh

The aim: To evaluate the effect of overweight on the quality of life of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients GOLD III. Materials and methods: 65 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD GOLD III) were examined in different phases of pathological process. The pulmonary function (PF) test was performed by means of “SPIROKOM” device (Ukraine). The degree of overweight was determined by calculating the body mass index (BMI) using the formula І = m/h² (m – body mass in kilograms, h – height, square of the height in meters (kg/m²). Patients’ quality of life was evaluated with the help of standardized St.George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Results: The study revealed changes in the PF indices and the decrease in quality of life in overweight patients, especially in case of destabilization of the pathological process. Conclusions: The obtained results show that overweight is the underlying condition for more severe course of the pathology and requires further study of its impact on the health and quality of life of patients in order to improve the effectiveness of treatment.


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