Comparing the effects of self-management and hospital-based pulmonary rehabilitation programs in COPD patients

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a core component of the management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although several types of PR programs are implemented for patients with COPD on the basis of patient preferences or clinical protocols, the clinical efficiencies of these programs may vary, with each program having its own unique purpose, procedures, benefits, challenges, and effectiveness.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of self-management and hospital-based PR programs in COPD patients.

This study was prospective intervention research. Fifty-eight patients with stable COPD were randomly allocated to a hospital-based outpatient group and a self-management group before commencement of a 12-week PR program. Before and after the PR program, all patients were evaluated using the 6-min walk test, Modified Borg Scale, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Standardized Mini-Mental Test.

Pulmonary functions, dyspnea, quality of life, and 6MWT distance were significantly improvement the hospital-based PR than self-management PR (P < 0.05). Moreover, cognitive function significantly improved after the PR program in both groups with no significant intergroup difference (P > 0.05).

Our findings suggest that PR is useful for to improvement functional capacity, quality of life, cognitive function and anxiety, in patients with COPD. A hospital-based PR is more effective than a self-management PR program.