Pulmonary Rehabilitation: A Retrospective Study in Eastern North Carolina.
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an evidence-based measure to benefit chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Many patients have benefitted from our robust university hospital-based PR program. We have objectively assessed the benefit of our PR program for COPD patients in Eastern North Carolina.



We used retrospective chart review to collect data from all the patients who completed PR from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2013. Data collection included quality-of-life scores using short-form 36 (SF-36) and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) to measure exercise capacity before and after PR. We also collected data on COPD exacerbation frequency 1 year before and 1 year after PR. The data were analyzed using the statistical software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22.0.



We analyzed data from 51 patients with 4 categories of COPD: mild (n = 2), moderate (n = 12), severe (n = 23), and very severe (n = 14). The PR program resulted in improvement in 6MWD of an average of 263.8 feet (P < .01) and a decrease in COPD exacerbation frequency by 0.3 events per year (P < .05). There were mixed results for quality-of-life scores.



Our study was conducted at 1 center and thus involved a single COPD patient population with limited sample size. We did not follow patients long term to see whether the benefits were sustained.



Our PR program resulted in a positive impact on exercise capacity, COPD exacerbation rate, and some aspects of quality of life.
fellow, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Vidant Medical Center, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina Chalises14@ecu.edu.
Som N
SN
Chalise
fellow, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Vidant Medical Center, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
Haitham T
HT
Shaheen
fellow, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Vidant Medical Center, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
Muhammad Z
MZ
Rizwan
professor, Department of Biostatistics, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
Kevin
K
O'Brien
clinical associate professor and attending physician, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Vidant Medical Center, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
Robert
R
Shaw
D000368:Aged; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011788:Quality of Life; D000066768:Rehabilitation Research / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000070857:Walk Test / Q000379:methods