Rehabilitation and Oxygen Therapy

In 29 patients with nonhypoxemic COPD (FEV₁, 36% of predicted), Emtner and coworkers did a double-blind trial to determine whether administration of supplemental oxygen during exercise training achieves a higher training work rate and thereby improves exercise capacity. The patients exercised on cycle ergometers for 45 minutes, 3 times a week for 7 weeks, at high-intensity targets while receiving 3 liters per minute of either oxygen or compressed air. Both groups had higher exercise tolerance after training. The oxygen-trained group, however, increased the training work rate more rapidly than did the air-trained group. Work rate during the last week was higher in the oxygen-trained group than in the air-trained group: 62 versus 52 watts. After training, endurance during constant work rate increased more in the oxygen-trained group than in the air-trained group: 14.5 versus 10.5 minutes. At isotime, respiratory rate decreased more in the oxygen-trained group than in the air-trained group: decrease of 4 versus 1 breath per minute. The authors conclude that administration of supplemental oxygen during high-intensity training produces a higher intensity of training and greater exercise tolerance during laboratory testing. An editorial commentary by Brusasco and Pellegrino accompanies this article.

Maintaining long-term improvement after pulmonary rehabilitation has been difficult. In 172 patients with chronic lung disease, Ries and coworkers tested the value of a telephone–maintenance program after rehabilitation in a randomized trial. Patients were randomized to 12 months of maintenance intervention (weekly phone calls plus monthly supervised reinforcement session) or standard care, and followed for 24 months. During the 12 months of intervention, the maintenance intervention group achieved better exercise tolerance (maximum treadmill workload and 6-minute walk distance), better overall health status ratings, and a decrease in hospital days. The groups did not differ in measures of pulmonary function, dyspnea, self-efficacy, quality of life, or general health use. By 24 months, group differences were no longer present and patients returned to levels close to, but above, prerehabilitation measures. The authors conclude that a maintenance program of weekly telephone calls and monthly supervised sessions only modestly enhance the maintenance of benefits after pulmonary rehabilitation.

Citations 1-3 of 3 total displayed.

Oxygen in the Rehabilitation of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Old Tool Revisited

Vito Brusasco and Riccardo Pellegrino
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 168: 1021-1022. [Full text]

Benefits of Supplemental Oxygen in Exercise Training in Nonhypoxemic Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Margareta Emtner, Janos Porszasz, Mary Burns, Attila Somfay, and Richard Casaburi
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 168: 1034 -1042. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200212-1525OC [Abstract] [Full text]

Maintenance after Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Chronic Lung Disease: A Randomized Trial

Andrew L. Ries, Robert M. Kaplan, Roseann Myers, and Lela M. Prewitt
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 167: 880 -888. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200204-318OC [Abstract] [Full text]

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