title: Long-term effect of respiratory training for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients at an outpatient clinic: a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of respiratory training (RT) on lung function, activity tolerance and acute exacerbation frequency with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomised controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outpatient clinic and home of the COPD patients, Zhengzhou City, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty participants with COPD were randomised into two groups: an intervention group (n = 30) which received the RT in self-management and a control group (n = 30) that received an education program during the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pulmonary function, activity tolerance and frequency of acute exacerbation of these COPD patients were evaluated before and after the program. The intervention and control programs were delivered at monthly outpatient clinic visits over a period of 12 months. The pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program was conducted by a physiotherapist (who delivered RT to the participant over a minimum of 1 h per visit) for the intervention group, whereas the control group received routine health education provided by physiotherapists. The intervention group patients were then instructed to perform exercises at home as taught in the RT at least 5 days per week at home.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 12 months of RT, the lung function and the activity tolerance of the COPD patients in the intervention group were significantly improved and the exacerbation frequency was also decreased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term RT can improve lung function and activity tolerance while decreasing the frequency of acute exacerbation for COPD patients.
authors.affiliation: The People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 450003, Zhengzhou, China. sunny.fe@163.com.|School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, 6027, Australia. sunny.fe@163.com.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: The People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 450003, Zhengzhou, China. santawang99@163.com.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 450003, Zhengzhou, China. rose20000@126.com.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, 6027, Australia. r.brightwell@ecu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brightwell
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, 6027, Australia. p.roberts@ecu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, 6027, Australia. a.stewart@ecu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Angus
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, 6027, Australia. m.sim@ecu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Moira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, 6027, Australia. wei.wang@ecu.edu.au.|Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University of Medical Science, 100069, Beijing, China. wei.wang@ecu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang