COPD, CHD Patients Benefit from Telerehab Program
A recent study found that a 4-month long integrated telerehabilitation home-based program (Telereab-HBP) was effective for improving mobility among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic heart failure (CHF).
The study included 112 patients with COPD and CHF (mean age 70 years, 82.1% were male). Participants were randomly assigned to either Telereab-HBP, which included remote monitoring of cardiorespiratory parameters and a weekly phone call from a nurse, or an exercise program monitored by a physiotherapist once a week for 4 months. The primary outcome included exercise tolerance, which was evaluated using the 6-minute walk test. In addition, time to hospitalization or death, dyspnea, physical activity profile, disability, and quality of life were assessed as secondary outcomes.
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After 4 months, participants in the Telereab-HBP group walked further compared with what they walked at baseline, while participants in the exercise program experienced no significant improvements.
The median time to hospitalization or death was 113.4 days among participants in the Telereab-HBP group compared with 104.7 days among those in the exercise program.
In addition, participants in the Telereab-HBP experienced significant improvements in assessments of physical activity, disability, dyspnea, and quality of life compared with those in the exercise group and maintained the benefits acquired at 6 months.
“This 4-month Telereab-HBP was feasible and effective in older patients with combined COPD and CHF,” the researchers concluded.
--Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Bernocchi P, Vitacca M, La Rovere MT, et al. Home-based telerehabilitation in older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure: a randomised controlled trial. Age and Ageing. 2018; 47(1): 82–88. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afx146.