Aim: There are few data showing how pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) for COPD patients carried out at home impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQL). The aim of this study was to determine if PR conducted at home improves quality of life.
Methods: We compared the results of home-based PR versus PR performed in an outpatient center. The outcomes were the HRQL measured by the Saint-George's Hospital questionnaire and the 6-minute walk test distance (6MWT). Fifty-six COPD patients were included for PR either at home (n=27) or in the outpatient center (n=29) depending on distance from the center and patients preference. The two groups were similar for sex, age, BMI, lung function, and initial peak oxygen uptake.
Results: 6MWT showed a similar non-significant improvement in both groups after PR (+12±46m in home-based PR,+13±34m in outpatient center). HRQL was significantly improved in the home-based group in 2 domains : "Activity" (-8.6±6.4 vs -0.7±17.7, P<0.05), "Impact" (-8.4±6.5 vs 1.6±11.7, P<0.001) and total score (-8.2±4.0 vs 0.0±8.8, P<0.001).
Conclusion: Pulmonary rehabilitation at home is associated with improvements in health-related quality of life, and thus can be considered where availability of treatment in specialized centers is limited.
Keywords: BPCO; COPD; Exercice; Exercise; Peak oxygen uptake; Pulmonary rehabilitation; Quality of life; Qualité de vie; Réhabilitation respiratoire; VO(2)pic.
Copyright © 2014 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.