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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
Pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD: from exercise training to 'real life'
Susana Alves Ferreira1, Miguel Guimarães, Natália Taveira
1Department of Pulmonology, Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho Hospital, Porto, Portugal. susalvesferreira@gmail.com
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of exercise training by means of a rehabilitative walking protocol. Twenty patients with COPD staged as III/IV according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease were included. Patients were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the exercise program regarding oxygen desaturation, sensation of dyspnea/fatigue, quality of life and six-minute walk distance. The comparison between the six-minute walk distance prior to and after training proved the efficacy of the protocol, which also resulted in a decrease in oxygen desaturation and in the sensation of dyspnea. This protocol can be easily put into practice.
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