A comparison of three disease-specific and two generic health-status measures to evaluate the outcome of pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD.
The use of health status as an outcome measure is becoming more widespread in pulmonary rehabilitation. There are a number of health status measures but the choice remains uncertain. Three disease specific measures and two generic measures of health status were employed to observe their relative sensitivity to a 7-week course of pulmonary rehabilitation. Patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were recruited into a rehabilitation programme. They completed a shuttle-walking test and three disease-specific questionnaires: the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ), the St. George's Hospital Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the Breathing Problems Questionnaire (BPQ). Patients also completed two generic questionnaires: a global quality-of-life scale and an activity checklist. Ninety-seven patients [58 male mean (SD) age 67 (8.7) years] completed the course over a 12-month period. The mean pre-rehabilitation (SD) FEV1 was 1.06 (0.59) l. The shuttle-walking test and the treadmill-endurance test increased significantly after rehabilitation (P<0.001). All three disease-specific questionnaires improved significantly (the CRQ and SGRQ improved beyond minimum clinically important difference). The global score improved significantly whilst the 'things people do' decreased. All three disease-specific measures were responsive to pulmonary rehabilitation. However the operator-led CRQ appears to be the most sensitive short-term outcome measure.
Singh
S J
SJ
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Glenfield Hospital, UK. sally.singh@glenfield-tr.trent.nhs.uk
Sodergren
S C
SC
Hyland
M E
ME
Williams
J
J
Morgan
M D
MD
D000368:Aged; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome