ZuWallack - Figure 33
PR Following Exacerbations: Mortality
FIG. 33: The effect on survival of pulmonary rehabilitation initiated after an exacerbation, however, appears to be much more promising. This Figure shows the principal result of a systematic review of a small number of studies, all done in Europe, when pulmonary rehabilitation was given in the peri-exacerbation/peri-hospitalization period.[25] From the results of this study it appears that pulmonary rehabilitation initiated after exacerbations affects mortality substantially, with an odds ratio of 0.28. That is a large reduction in mortality in these patients who are hospitalized with COPD and sent home. Therefore if more studies are done, they should probably aim to replicate this study with a larger randomized controlled trial with more patients.
References
Puhan MA, Gimeno-Santos E, Scharplatz M, et al. Pulmonary rehabilitation following exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;(10):CD005305.
