Home strength training program improves exercise capacity in patients with COPD

According to new data published in Chest.

“Home-based programs have become increasingly popular in recent years and complement traditional inpatient and outpatient centers. [pulmonary rehabilitation]”, Anja Frei, PhD, from the Institute of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention at the University of Zurich, and his colleagues wrote. “Consequently, a growing number of randomized controlled trials have investigated the effectiveness of home-based programs, and consideration of these alternative models and the opportunities and challenges for [pulmonary rehabilitation] are currently being debated. »

Researchers conducted a multicenter, randomized, parallel-arm study at four pulmonary rehabilitation clinics in Switzerland. The study included 123 patients with COPD (mean age, 66.8 years; 49.5% female), 61 of whom were randomly assigned to an intervention group that received HOMEX, a home strength training program , and 62 to standard care.

The primary endpoint was the change in dyspnoea between baseline and 12 months, assessed using a self-administered chronic respiratory questionnaire. Secondary outcomes included change in exercise capacity (measured by 1-minute sit-stand test and 6-minute walk test), health-related quality of life, event-related exacerbations and symptoms of COPD.

According to the results, 104 of the participants completed 12-month follow-up assessments, including 53 in the intervention group and 51 in the control group. Of those in the intervention group, 70% performed the exercises until the end of the study.

The researchers reported no difference in the change in dyspnea between the groups over the 12-month period (adjusted mean difference = 0.28; 95% CI, -0.23 to 0.80), but reported moderate differences in one-minute sit-stand repetitions that favored the intervention group (adjusted mean difference = 2.6; 95% CI, 0.22-5.03). There was no evidence of effect in the remaining outcomes.

A follow-up satisfaction survey revealed that 81% of intervention participants enjoyed the program and 79% reported feeling positive effects from the training.

“In addition to evaluating this intervention in a larger sample, we suggest that further research should identify the characteristics of patients who are able to adhere long-term to these home-based programs with minimal equipment and for whom to other programs are more appropriate,” the researchers said. wrote.