OBJECTIVE: To determine effects of different modes of upper limb training on dyspnea and quality of life of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) having different disease severity. METHODS: Randomized clinical trials were retrieved from five electronic databases. Risk of bias and quality of evidence were assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool and the GRADE approach, respectively. Effects of upper limb training compared to control were identified using standardized mean difference and 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Fifteen studies with 514 subjects were included. When compared to control, upper limb endurance and strength training with moderate quality of evidence resulted in significant improvement in dyspnea. However, quality of life was not significantly different between upper limb training of all modes of and the control. The upper limb training was more effective in reducing dyspnea in patients with severe COPD than in those with mild to moderate levels of COPD. Although quality of life was slightly improved by upper limb training for those with moderate or severe level of COPD, such improvement did not reach a significant level when compared to the control. CONCLUSION: Upper limb endurance and strength training could significantly improve dyspnea in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Thus, incorporating the upper limb training into pulmonary rehabilitation is recommended to reduce dyspnea, especially for those with severe patients. Further studies with larger sample size and standardized training protocol are needed to confirm these finding (Registration No. CRD42018102805).
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Quality of Life ; Rehabilitation ; Resistance Training ; Sample Size ; Upper Extremity

Sarcopenia is frequently associated with chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer. COPD, which is characterized by an irreversible airflow limitation, exacerbates respiratory distress as the disease progresses. The prevalence of sarcopenia in stable COPD was reported to be 15% to 25% in previous foreign studies and 25% in a Korean study. As the amount of activity decreases, muscle mass decreases and eventually oxygen cannot be used effectively, resulting in a vicious cycle of deterioration of exercise capacity. Deconditioning due to decreased activity is a major cause of limb muscle dysfunction in patients with COPD. In these patients, the factors that decrease muscle strength and endurance include chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, inactivity, hypoxemia, hormone abnormality, deficits of nutrients such as protein and vitamin D, and the use of systemic corticosteroid. Therefore, treatment and management should either inhibit this process or should be directed toward supplementing the deficiency, such as with exercise, nutritional support, and medications and supplements. The relationship between sarcopenia and COPD is increasingly being reported, with some overlap in clinical features and treatments. We are fascinated to be able to diagnose 2 diseases through similar physical performance tests and to improve both diseases using the same treatment such as exercise. Therefore, this review summarizes the clinical relevance and integrative management of the 2 diseases.
Anoxia ; Chronic Disease ; Exercise Therapy ; Extremities ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lung Diseases ; Muscle Strength ; Nutritional Support ; Oxidative Stress ; Oxygen ; Prevalence ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Rehabilitation ; Sarcopenia ; Vitamin D

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a severe respiratory disease characterized by airway obstruction with high mortality and rate of recurrence. Rehabilitation exercise can lessen the possibility of the progressive exacerbation of the patient's condition, exerting an active role in improving their lung function and the quality of the patients' life. Therefore, we have designed a lung function exercise bottle, which is capable of adjusting the pressure according to the patient's needs. It is easy to operate and apply in practice. The exercise bottle is composed of three components, including bottle body, threaded round cap and air blow pipe. The bottle body is formed in rectangle shape, and utilized to contain liquid. The filling opening is designed on the top of the bottle. Outside of the filling opening, there is a screw thread round cap, which can adjust the pressure according to the patient's tolerance, gradually increasing the training intensity,and improving the training effect thereby. The blowpipe can be inserted into the bottle body and the patient can blow the air through the tube. Compared with the traditional rehabilitation training, when the newly invented lung function exercise bottle has been used for rehabilitation exercise, the air pressure in the bottle can be adjusted, with the advantage of wider range of application, lower cost and more convenient. It provides a good solution for clinical and home-based rehabilitation and is worth of popularizing.
Equipment Design ; Exercise Therapy/instrumentation* ; Humans ; Lung/physiology* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/rehabilitation*

PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the changes in pulmonary function, gait ability, and quality of life when NMES is applied along with CBE and to provide basic clinical data to be used in pulmonary rehabilitation guidelines for patients with COPD to treat patients with severe COPD. METHODS: For this study, CBE and NMES of quadriceps femoris on both sides were applied to the experimental group (n=10), and only CBE was applied to the control group (n=10). For a pre-test, a 6-minute walk test was performed, and pulmonary function and health-related quality of life were measured. Moreover, an exercise program was applied to each group for 30 minutes per session, 5 times a week, for 6 weeks. After that, a post-test was conducted the same way as the pre-test. RESULTS: In the within-group comparison, there were significant differences in forced expiratory volume in one second, 6-minute walk test and health-related quality of life between the experimental group and the control group (p < 0.01)(p < 0.05). In the between-group comparison, the experimental group showed an increase in forced expiratory volume in one second and 6-minute walk test (p < 0.05) and showed a decline in health-related quality of life (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The 6-weeks NMES program improved health-related quality in patients with severe COPD by increasing expiratory volume by reinforcing the function of quadriceps femoris. This finding implies that NMES could be an alternative mode for improving physical functions of patients with severe COPD, who cannot participate in a breathing exercise program or are reluctant to participate.
Electric Stimulation* ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Gait* ; Humans ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Quadriceps Muscle ; Quality of Life* ; Rehabilitation ; Respiration

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will reduce the cardiopulmonary function and increase perioperative risk. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of preoperative short-term high intensity lung rehabilitation training on lung function and postoperative complications in patients with COPD who are eligible for lung cancer surgery. METHODS: We analysis of 101 patients with COPD and a diagnosis of lung cancer, with 43 patients in pulmonary rehabilitation group and 58 patients in conventional group. The pulmonary function, postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) and length of stay (LOS) will be compared between the two groups, the lung function will be compared before and after the rehabilitation at the same time. RESULTS: There were no significant difference between the two groups in general information, lung function before surgery, postoperative pulmonary infection [8 (18.6%) vs 17 (29.3%)], atelectasis [1 (2.3%) vs 1 (1.7%)], respiratory failure [1 (2.3%) vs 2 (3.4%)] and postoperative LOS [(8.93±3.78) d vs (9.62±3.98) d, P>0.05]. In the rehabilitation group, the FEV1 [(2.06±0.45) L vs (2.15±0.45) L, P<0.001] and PEF [(4.32±0.90) L/s vs (5.15±1.05) L/s, P<0.001) were higher, and PCO2 [(42.42±2.79) mmHg vs (41.58±2.98) mmHg, P=0.009] was lower after rehabilitation, significantly. The increase value of FEV1 in moderate to severe COPD group was higher than that of the mild COPD group after the rehabilitation [(0.16±0.05) L, 8.6% vs (0.06±0.05) L, 2.8%, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The short-term highly-intensity lung rehabilitation can improve lung function in lung cancer patients with COPD, and the improvement of pulmonary function in moderate to severe COPD patients is more obviously.
Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; complications ; rehabilitation ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Perioperative Period ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Safety

OBJECTIVE: To compare the respiratory muscle strength between patients with stable and acutely exacerbated (AE) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at various stages. METHODS: A retrospective medical record review was conducted on patients with COPD from March 2014 to May 2016. Patients were subdivided into COPD stages 1–4 according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease guidelines: mild, moderate, severe, and very severe. A rehabilitation physician reviewed their medical records and initial assessment, including spirometry, maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), COPD Assessment Test, and modified Medical Research Council scale. We then compared the initial parameters in patients with a stable condition and those at AE status. RESULTS: The AE group (n=94) had significantly lower MIP (AE, 55.93±20.57; stable, 67.88±24.96; p=0.006) and MIP% (AE, 82.82±27.92; stable, 96.64±30.46; p=0.015) than the stable patient group (n=36). MIP, but not MEP, was proportional to disease severity in patients with AE and stable COPD. CONCLUSION: The strength of the inspiratory muscles may better reflect severity of disease when compared to that of expiratory muscles.
Dyspnea ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Muscle Strength ; Muscles ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Rehabilitation ; Respiratory Muscles* ; Retrospective Studies ; Spirometry

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent airflow limitation that is usually progressive. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, leading to substantial and increasing economic and social burden. Palliative care for COPD patients aims to reduce symptoms and exacerbations and improve exercise tolerance and quality of life. It is difficult to make a prognosis for COPD patients due to the variable illness trajectory and advanced care of patients. However, severity of breathlessness, assessment of lung function impairment, and frequency of exacerbations can help to identify palliative care needs and determine effective methods to mitigate symptoms, which is discussed in this paper. In these patients, it is recommended to provide individualized palliative care along with curative/restorative care at the onset of COPD symptoms. Before launching a palliative care system in Korea, it is necessary to prepare pulmonary rehabilitation resources, patient-centered communication, timely palliative responsiveness, and a program for effective advanced care planning. A multidisciplinary approach involving collaboration with not only the respiratory and palliative care teams but also primary care offers a new model of care for these patients and should be considered with a priority.
Cooperative Behavior ; Dyspnea ; Exercise Tolerance ; Hospice Care ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung ; Mortality ; Palliative Care* ; Primary Health Care ; Prognosis ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Quality of Life ; Rehabilitation ; Respiratory Therapy

Aged ; Disease Progression ; Exercise Therapy ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Patient Readmission ; statistics & numerical data ; Physical Therapy Modalities ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; rehabilitation ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore ; Treatment Outcome ; Walk Test

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to review systematically the effects of home based pulmonary rehabilitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients using qualitative synthesis. METHODS: Studies designed randomized controlled trials were identified to extract data and to assess the quality of studies in 8 domestic and 3 foreign search engines, and hand search reference reviews. RESULTS: A total of 9 studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the methodological quality of the studies ranged from average to poor. Home based pulmonary rehabilitation consisted of exercise, education, and psychosocial interventions. Several exercises such as aerobic, strength, respiratory muscle training, and flexibility were used in home based pulmonary rehabilitation for COPD patients. Upper muscle exercise and walking were the most frequently used exercises. The most common topics for education were ‘knowledge of the illness’ and ‘drug management’. Walking distance test (WDT) and quality of life (QoL) were the most frequently measured as the dependent variables to evaluate rehabilitation outcomes, followed by pulmonary function test (PFT) and dyspnea. WDT was the most effective outcome, followed by dyspnea, QoL and PFT. CONCLUSION: This study informed about the details of scientific and effective home based rehabilitation programs in COPD patients for future researchers and clinicians. These findings can help expand the recognition and accessibility of home based rehabilitation in COPD patients.
Breathing Exercises ; Dyspnea ; Education ; Exercise ; Hand ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; Pliability ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Quality of Life ; Rehabilitation* ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Search Engine ; Walking

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a home-based self-management support intervention (SMSI) for enhancing pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Korea. METHODS: This methodological study was conducted by following these 4 steps: constructing the preliminary draft of a home-based SMSI from existing recommendation and a literature review on PR and self-management interventions; testing content validity with 6 experts in COPD; exploring clinical applicability of the intervention by applying it to 4 COPD patients; determining the final intervention. RESULTS: The final intervention included 4 components and contents identified from the literature review as essentials for self-management of COPD patients: education; exercise training and practice including breathing, muscle strengthening and aerobic exercises; cognitive behavioral strategies including informative self-decision making, collaborative goal setting and supportive advice; and action planning for exacerbation. The intervention was designed to be run by a trained nurse and had 8 weekly sessions consisting of three 60-minute face-to-face sessions and five 20-minute phone-call sessions. CONCLUSION: The intervention developed in this study incorporates essential components of self-management, i.e. action plan and cognitive behavioral strategies, and will contribute to enhancing and maintaining effects of PR by increasing self-management in COPD patients.
Education ; Exercise ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Quality of Life ; Rehabilitation* ; Respiration ; Self Care*