- Title
- Exacerbations of COPD
- Creator
- Man, William D-C.; Jones, Arwel W.
- Relation
- ERS Monograph: Pulmonary Rehabilitation Vol. 2021, Issue 93, p. 165-181
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10018320
- Publisher
- European Respiratory Society
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Acute exacerbations requiring hospitalisation result in physical inactivity, exercise intolerance, and a deterioration in muscle function and health status that place COPD patients at high risk of readmission. High-quality clinical trial evidence shows improvements in exercise capacity and QoL with PR delivered immediately upon initiation, or within 3 weeks, of exacerbation treatment. Evidence for reductions in hospital readmissions and mortality is of lower quality, which may be due to the extensiveness or components of the programme. Few or no mild adverse events have been reported, but qualitative studies suggest that referral to an outpatient centre-based programme on the day of hospital discharge is not acceptable to many patients. Under-referral and barriers at a health service level have also limited implementation of PR during or following hospitalisation in routine clinical practice. Research to address these issues is underway, as it has the potential to make a significant impact on health services, given the known efficacy of peri-or postexacerbation PR in clinical trials.
- Subject
- exacerbations; COPD; treatment; clinical trials
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1503680
- Identifier
- uon:55372
- Identifier
- ISSN:2312-5098
- Language
- eng
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