[Outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation]. / Ambulante pneumologische Rehabilitation.

ABSTRACT

Background: Outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) plays a central role in the integrative care of patients with pulmonary diseases. Material and methods: The article gives an overview of the recent evidence on outpatient PR in various diseases, in various settings including the cost-effectiveness. This is based on a selective literature search in the PubMed and Medline databanks, current expert opinions and clinical experiences. Results: Early rehabilitation after exacerbation in COPD patients leads to a reduction of rehospitalizations (hazard ratio 0.83) and to a reduction of mortality (hazard ratio 0.63) over a period of 12 months. Telerehabilitation is a promising future perspective in specific settings. Recent publications on bronchiectasis, interstitial lung diseases and pulmonary hypertension could confirm the safety and feasibility of outpatient PR and the cost-effectiveness could be demonstrated. Also, the evidence for inpatient as well as outpatient PR settings for patients with post-COVID and long COVID is growing. Conclusion: There is growing equivalence with respect to the evidence on PR, independent of whether it is carried out in an outpatient or inpatient setting.