The value of pulmonary rehabilitation combined with heat, magnetic vibration and tiotropium in treating stable but severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the value of combining pulmonary rehabilitation with heat and magnetic vibration (HMV) therapy and tiotropium for patients with stable but severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods This was a paralleled, controlled, randomized study. Thirty-seven patients with stable severe COPD were enrolled and divided into two groups at random. One was the tiotropium group (T group) , while the other combined tiotropium therapy with HMV (the T + HMV group). The time span was 4 weeks. The examinations were performed at week 0, week 2 and week 4. The examinations included pulmonary function tests, arterial blood gas analysis, the 6 minute walking test (6MWT) , Borg's score and St George's Respiratory Questionaire (SGRQ). Results Inspiratory capacity (IC) increased in both groups. Forced expiratory volume in one second ( FEV1.0) , percent predicted FEV1.0 and FEV1.0/forced vital capacity ( FVC) increased significantly only in the T + HMV group. The average parameters of the pulmonary function test in the T + HMV group were significantly higher than in the T group. In both groups, alveolar PO2 ( PaO2) improved but alveolar PCO2 ( PaCO2 ) did not change and in this there was no significant difference between the groups. The 6 minute walking distance increased and the average Borg score decreased in both groups, and there was no difference between the groups. SCRQ dropped more than 4 scores in both groups, but the decrease in the T + HMV group was significantly greater. Conclusions Tiotropium can play an important role in the rehabilitation of patients with stable severe COPD. The combination of tiotropium with HMV therapy is superior to tiotropium alone in pulmonary rehabilitation for stable but severe COPD patients.