Motivations for completing pulmonary rehabilitation - A qualitative analysis.

Background: Previous studies have focused on demographic factors that might predict non-completion of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). We aimed to identify key modifiable factors that promote completion of PR. Methods: A mixed methods survey was offered to participants completing a discharge assessment following PR. Descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis were used to analyse the survey responses, with investigator triangulation. Results: 62 of 187 (33%) patients attending a PR discharge assessment between November 2022 and April 2023 returned the anonymised survey. Desire to improve health and wellbeing was the main reason for both initially committing to a course and for continuing with PR past transient thoughts of leaving. The positive impact of staff was the second most common reason. The enjoyment of the PR programme, being held accountable to attend classes, and the importance of other group members were other key themes identified. Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings suggest PR services need to implement strategies which ensure regular promotion and reinforcement of the health benefits of PR as well as implementation of PR modalities which best monopolise on the positive impact skilled staff have on motivating patients to complete PR.

Developing a framework of concerns from people living with frailty, for the Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW) person-centred outcome measure.

INTRODUCTION: Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing is a validated person-centred outcome measure, piloted as a core monitoring tool to understand what matters to people living with frailty in Gloucestershire. This paper describes the acceptability of MYCaW used in this setting, and the development of a framework for analysing personalised concerns from people living with frailty. METHODS: MYCaW was implemented in the Complex Care at Home service and South Cotswold Frailty Service from November 2020 onwards. MYCaW was completed at the person's first meeting with a community matron and then 3 months later. Nineteen staff completed an anonymous survey to provide feedback on the acceptability of the tool. A framework of concerns bespoke to people living with frailty was created via iterative rounds of independent coding of 989 concerns from 526 people. The inter-rater reliability of the framework was determined by using the Cronbach alpha test. RESULTS: MYCaW was simple to use and helped health professionals' discussions to be patient focused. A pictorial scale accompanying the Numerical Rating Scale was developed and tested to help people engage with scoring their concerns and well-being more easily. A framework of concerns from people living with frailty was produced with five main supercategories: Mental and Emotional Concerns; Physical Concerns; Healthcare and Service Provision Concerns, Concerns with General Health and Well-being and Practical Concerns. Inter-rater reliability was kappa=0.905. CONCLUSIONS: MYCaW was acceptable as a core monitoring tool for people living with frailty and enabled a systematic approach to opening 'What Matters to Me' conversations. The personalised data generated valuable insights into how the frailty services positively impacted the outcomes for people living with frailty. The coding framework demonstrated a wide range of concerns-many linked to inequalities and not identified on existing outcome measures recommended for people living with frailty.

Mood disorder in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: response to pulmonary rehabilitation.

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation improves mood disorder in COPD, but there are limited data in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The aims of this cohort study were to investigate whether pulmonary rehabilitation reduces mood disorder in IPF, and estimate the minimal important difference (MID) of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Methods: HADS and core pulmonary rehabilitation outcomes were measured in 166 participants before and after an 8-week, in-person, outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Anchor- and distribution-based methods were used to calculate the MID of HADS-Anxiety (A) and HADS-Depression (D). Results: Suggestive or probable anxiety and depression (HADS ≥8) were present in 35% and 37% of participants, respectively, at baseline, and this reduced significantly following pulmonary rehabilitation (post-pulmonary rehabilitation: HADS-A 23%, HADS-D 26%). Overall, there was a significant reduction in HADS-D (mean change -1.1, 95% CI -1.6- -0.5), but not HADS-A (-0.6, -1.3-0.15) with pulmonary rehabilitation. Subgroup analysis of those with HADS ≥8 revealed significant improvements in HADS domains (mean change: HADS-A -4.5, 95% CI -5.7- -3.4; median change: HADS-D -4.0, interquartile range -6.0- -1.0). The mean (range) MID estimates for HADS-A and HADS-D were -2 (-2.3- -1.7) and -1.2 (-1.9- -0.5), respectively. Conclusion: In people with IPF and suggestive or probable mood disorder, pulmonary rehabilitation reduces anxiety and depression.

Change in gait speed and adverse outcomes in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Gait speed is associated with survival in individuals with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The extent to which four-metre gait speed (4MGS) decline predicts adverse outcome in IPF remains unclear. We aimed to examine longitudinal 4MGS change and identify a cut-point associated with adverse outcome. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study, we recruited 132 individuals newly diagnosed with IPF and measured 4MGS change over 6 months. Death/first hospitalization at 6 months were composite outcome events. Complete data (paired 4MGS plus index event) were available in 85 participants; missing 4MGS data were addressed using multiple imputation. Receiver-Operating Curve plots identified a 4MGS change cut-point. Cox proportional-hazard regression assessed the relationship between 4MGS change and time to event. RESULTS: 4MGS declined over 6 months (mean [95% CI] change: -0.05 [-0.09 to -0.01] m/s; p = 0.02). A decline of 0.07 m/s or more in 4MGS over 6 months had better discrimination for the index event than change in 6-minute walk distance, forced vital capacity, Composite Physiologic Index or Gender Age Physiology index. Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated a significant difference in time to event between 4MGS groups (substantial decline: >-0.07 m/s versus minor decline/improvers: ≤-0.07 m/s; p = 0.007). Those with substantial decline had an increased risk of hospitalization/death (adjusted hazard ratio [95% CI] 4.61 [1.23-15.83]). Similar results were observed in multiple imputation analysis. CONCLUSION: In newly diagnosed IPF, a substantial 4MGS decline over 6 months is associated with shorter time to hospitalization/death at 6 months. 4MGS change has potential as a surrogate endpoint for interventions aimed at modifying hospitalization/death.

Frailty and Mortality Risk in COPD: A Cohort Study Comparing the Fried Frailty Phenotype and Short Physical Performance Battery.

Background: Identifying frailty in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is deemed important, yet comparative characteristics of the most commonly used frailty measures in COPD are unknown. This study aimed to compare how the Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) characterise frailty in people with stable COPD, including prevalence of and overlap in identification of frailty, disease and health characteristics of those identified as living with frailty, and predictive value in relation to survival time. Methods: Cohort study of people with stable COPD attending outpatient clinics. Agreement between frailty classifications was described using Cohen's Kappa. Disease and health characteristics of frail versus not frail participants were compared using t-, Mann-Whitney U and Chi-Square tests. Predictive value for mortality was examined with multivariable Cox regression. Results: Of 714 participants, 421 (59%) were male, mean age 69.9 years (SD 9.7), mean survival time 2270 days (95% CI 2185-2355). Similar proportions were identified as frail using the FFP (26.2%) and SPPB (23.7%) measures; classifications as frail or not frail matched in 572 (80.1%) cases, showing moderate agreement (Kappa = 0.469, SE = 0.038, p < 0.001). Discrepancies seemed driven by FFP exhaustion and weight loss criteria and the SPPB balance component. People with frailty by either measure had worse exercise capacity, health-related quality of life, breathlessness, depression and dependence in activities of daily living. In multivariable analysis controlling for the Age Dyspnoea Obstruction index, sex, BMI, comorbidities and exercise capacity, both the FFP and SPPB had predictive value in relation to mortality (FFP aHR = 1.31 [95% CI 1.03-1.66]; SPPB aHR = 1.29 [95% CI 0.99-1.68]). Conclusion: In stable COPD, both the FFP and SPPB identify similar proportions of people living with/without frailty, the majority with matching classifications. Both measures can identify individuals with multidimensional health challenges and increased mortality risk and provide additional information alongside established prognostic variables.

Digital habits of pulmonary rehabilitation service-users following the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: We previously demonstrated low levels of digital literacy amongst pulmonary rehabilitation service-users prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to identify whether the pandemic accelerated digital literacy in this population, resulting in greater acceptance of remote web-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme models. METHODS: We surveyed digital access and behaviours and pulmonary rehabilitation delivery preferences of service-users referred to pulmonary rehabilitation in 2021 (cohort 2021) and propensity score-matched them to a cohort who completed the survey in 2020 (cohort 2020). RESULTS: There were indicators that digital access and confidence were better amongst the Cohort 2021 but no difference was seen in the proportion of patients choosing remote web-based pulmonary rehabilitation as an acceptable method of receiving pulmonary rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: In an unselected cohort of service-users, remote web-based pulmonary rehabilitation was considered acceptable in only a minority of patients which has implications on healthcare commissioning and delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and COPD: A Propensity-Matched Real-World Study.

BACKGROUND: The adherence to and clinical efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), particularly in comparison with COPD, remains uncertain. The objectives of this real-world study were to compare the responses of patients with IPF with a matched group of patients with COPD undergoing the same supervised, outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program and to determine whether pulmonary rehabilitation is associated with survival in IPF. RESEARCH QUESTION: Do people with IPF improve to the same extent with pulmonary rehabilitation as a matched group of individuals with COPD, and are noncompletion of or nonresponse to pulmonary rehabilitation, or both, associated with 1-year all-cause mortality in IPF? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Using propensity score matching, 163 patients with IPF were matched 1:1 with a control group of 163 patients with COPD referred for pulmonary rehabilitation. We compared between-group pulmonary rehabilitation completion rates and response. Survival status in the IPF cohort was recorded over 1 year after pulmonary rehabilitation discharge. Cox proportional hazards regression explored the association between pulmonary rehabilitation status and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Similar pulmonary rehabilitation completion rates (IPF, 69%; COPD, 63%; P = .24) and improvements in exercise response were observed in both groups with no significant mean between-group differences in incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) change (mean, 2 m [95% CI, -18 to 22 m]). Pulmonary rehabilitation noncompletion (hazard ratio [HR], 5.62 [95% CI, 2.24-14.08]) and nonresponse (HR, 3.91 [95% CI, 1.54-9.93]) were associated independently with increased 1-year all-cause mortality in IPF. INTERPRETATION: This real-word study demonstrated that patients with IPF have similar completion rates and magnitude of response to pulmonary rehabilitation compared with a matched group of patients with COPD. In IPF, noncompletion of and nonresponse to pulmonary rehabilitation were associated with increased all-cause mortality. These data reinforce the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with IPF.

Minimal versus specialist equipment in the delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation: protocol for a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), an exercise and education programme for people with chronic lung disease, aims to improve exercise capacity, breathlessness and quality of life. Most evidence to support PR is from trials that use specialist exercise equipment, for example, treadmills (PR-gym). However, a significant proportion of programmes do not have access to specialist equipment with training completed with minimal exercise equipment (PR-min). There is a paucity of robust literature examining the efficacy of supervised, centre-based PR-min. We aim to determine whether an 8-week supervised, centre-based PR-min programme is non-inferior to a standard 8-week supervised, centre-based PR-gym programme in terms of exercise capacity and health outcomes for patients with chronic lung disease. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Parallel, two-group, assessor-blinded and statistician-blinded, non-inferiority randomised trial. 436 participants will be randomised using minimisation at the individual level with a 1:1 allocation to PR-min (intervention) or PR-gym (control). Assessment will take place pre-PR (visit 1), post-PR (visit 2) and 12 months following visit 1 (visit 3). Exercise capacity (incremental shuttle walk test), dyspnoea (Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ)-Dyspnoea), health-related quality of life (CRQ), frailty (Short Physical Performance Battery), muscle strength (isometric quadriceps maximum voluntary contraction), patient satisfaction (Global Rating of Change Questionnaire), health economic as well as safety and trial process data will be measured. The primary outcome is change in exercise capacity between visit 1 and visit 2. Two sample t-tests on an intention to treat basis will be used to estimate the difference in mean primary and secondary outcomes between patients randomised to PR-gym and PR-min. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: London-Camden and Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority have approved the study (18/LO/0315). Results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals, presented at international conferences, disseminated through social media, patient and public routes and directly shared with stakeholders. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN16196765.

Muscle stimulation in advanced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a randomised placebo-controlled feasibility study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the acceptability of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) of the quadriceps muscles in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and to identify whether a future definitive trial is feasible. DESIGN: A randomised, parallel, two-group, participant and assessor-blinded, placebo-controlled feasibility trial with embedded qualitative interviews. SETTING: Outpatient department, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-two people with IPF: median (25th, 75th centiles) age 76 (74, 82) years, forced vital capacity 62 (50, 75) % predicted, 6 min walk test distance 289 (149, 360) m. INTERVENTIONS: Usual care (home-based exercise, weekly telephone support, breathlessness management leaflet) with either placebo or active NMES for 6 weeks, with follow-up at 6 and 12 weeks. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Feasibility of recruitment and retention, treatment uptake and adherence, outcome assessments, participant and outcome assessor blinding and adverse events related to interventions. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measures with potential to be primary or secondary outcomes in a definitive clinical trial. In addition, purposively sampled participants were interviewed to capture their experiences and acceptability of the trial. RESULTS: Out of 364 people screened, 23 were recruited: 11 were allocated to each group and one was withdrawn prior to randomisation. Compared with the control group, a greater proportion of the intervention group completed the intervention, remained in the trial blinded to group allocation and experienced intervention-related adverse events. Assessor blinding was maintained. The secondary outcome measures were feasible with most missing data associated with the accelerometer. Small participant numbers precluded identification of an outcome measure suitable for a definitive trial. Qualitative findings demonstrated that trial process and active NMES were acceptable but there were concerns about the credibility of placebo NMES. CONCLUSIONS: Primarily owing to recruitment difficulties, a definitive trial using the current protocol to evaluate NMES in people with IPF is not feasible. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03499275.

Integrating Home-Based Exercise Training with a Hospital at Home Service for Patients Hospitalised with Acute Exacerbations of COPD: Developing the Model Using Accelerated Experience-Based Co-Design.

BACKGROUND: Hospital at home (HaH) schemes allow early discharge of patients hospitalised with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Traditional outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) following an AECOPD has an established evidence-base, but there are issues with low referral, uptake and completion. One commonly cited barrier to PR post-hospitalisation relates to poor accessibility. To address this, the aim of this project was to enrol service users (patients with COPD and informal carers) and healthcare professionals to co-design a model of care that integrates home-based exercise training within a HaH scheme for patients discharged from hospital following AECOPD. METHODS: This accelerated experience-based co-design project included three audio-recorded stakeholder feedback events, using key "touchpoints" from previous qualitative interviews and a recent systematic review. Audio-recordings were inductively analysed using directed content analysis. An integrated model of care was then developed and finalised through two co-design groups, with the decision-making process facilitated by the tables of changes approach. RESULTS: Seven patients with COPD, two informal carers and nine healthcare professionals (from an existing outpatient PR service and HaH scheme) participated in the stakeholder feedback events. Four key themes were identified: 1) individualisation, 2) progression and transition, 3) continuity between services, and 4) communication between stakeholders. Two patients with COPD, one informal carer and three healthcare professionals participated in the first joint co-design group, with five healthcare professionals attending a second co-design group. These achieved a consensus on the integrated model of care. The agreed model comprised face-to-face supervised, individually tailored home-based exercise training one to three times a week, delivered during HaH scheme visits where possible by a healthcare professional competent to provide both home-based exercise training and usual HaH care. CONCLUSION: An integrated model of care has been co-designed by patients with COPD, informal carers and healthcare professionals to address low uptake and completion of PR following AECOPD. The co-designed model of care has now been integrated within a well-established HaH scheme.

Gait speed and adverse outcomes following hospitalised exacerbation of COPD.

BACKGROUND: The 4-m gait speed (4MGS) test is a simple physical performance measure and surrogate marker of frailty that is associated with adverse outcomes in older adults. We aimed to assess the ability of 4MGS to predict prognosis in patients hospitalised with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). METHODS: 213 participants hospitalised with AECOPD (52% male, mean age 72 years and mean forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) 35% predicted) were enrolled. 4MGS and baseline demographics were recorded at hospital discharge. All-cause readmission and mortality were collected for 1 year after discharge and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed. Kaplan-Meier and competing risks analyses were conducted comparing time to all-cause readmission and mortality between 4MGS quartiles. RESULTS: 111 participants (52%) were readmitted and 35 (16%) died during the follow-up period. 4MGS was associated with all-cause readmission, with an adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio of 0.868 (95% CI 0.797-0.945; p=0.001) per 0.1 m·s-1 increase in gait speed, and with all-cause mortality, with an adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio of 0.747 (95% CI 0.622-0.898; p=0.002) per 0.1 m·s-1 increase in gait speed. Readmission and mortality models incorporating 4MGS had higher discrimination than age or FEV1 % pred alone, with areas under the receiver operator characteristic curves of 0.73 and 0.80, respectively. Kaplan-Meier and competing risks curves demonstrated that those in slower gait speed quartiles had reduced time to readmission and mortality (log-rank, both p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: 4MGS provides a simple means of identifying at-risk patients with COPD at hospital discharge. This provides valuable information to plan post-discharge care and support.

COPD discharge bundle and pulmonary rehabilitation referral and uptake following hospitalisation for acute exacerbation of COPD.

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) following hospitalisations for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) is associated with improved exercise capacity and quality of life, and reduced readmissions. However, referral for, and uptake of, post-hospitalisation PR are low. In this prospective cohort study of 291 consecutive hospitalisations for AECOPD, COPD discharge bundles delivered by PR practitioners compared with non-PR practitioners were associated with increased PR referral (60% vs 12%, p<0.001; adjusted OR: 14.46, 95% CI: 5.28 to 39.57) and uptake (40% vs 32%, p=0.001; adjusted OR: 8.60, 95% CI: 2.51 to 29.50). Closer integration between hospital and PR services may increase post-hospitalisation PR referral and uptake.

Minimal clinically important difference for daily pedometer step count in COPD.

Pedometer step count improves with pulmonary rehabilitation and deteriorates with time. The MCID for improvement and deterioration is 427 and -456 steps, respectively, but there is uncertainty about the reliability of these estimates. https://bit.ly/3ci97Jh.

Digital habits of PR service-users: Implications for home-based interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Remote models of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) are vital with suspension of face-to-face activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed digital access and behaviours and PR delivery preferences of current PR service users. There was significant heterogeneity in access to and confidence in using the Internet with 31% having never previously accessed the Internet, 48% confident using the Internet and 29% reporting no interest in accessing any component of PR through a Web-based app. These data have implications for the remote delivery of PR during the COVID-19 pandemic and raise questions about the current readiness of service users to adopt Web-based delivered models of PR.

Anxiety and depression in bronchiectasis: Response to pulmonary rehabilitation and minimal clinically important difference of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

The aims of the study were to evaluate the responsiveness of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety (HADS-A) subscale and HADS-Depression (HADS-D) subscale to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with bronchiectasis compared to a matched group of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and provide estimates of the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of HADS-A and HADS-D in bronchiectasis. Patients with bronchiectasis and at least mild anxiety or depression (HADS-A ≥ 8 or/and HADS-D ≥ 8), as well as a propensity score-matched control group of patients with COPD, underwent an 8-week outpatient PR programme (two supervised sessions per week). Within- and between-group changes were calculated in response to PR. Anchor- and distribution-based methods were used to estimate the MCID. HADS-A and HADS-D improved in response to PR in both patients with bronchiectasis and those with COPD (median (25th, 75th centile)/mean (95% confidence interval) change: HADS-A change: bronchiectasis -2 (-5, 0), COPD -2 (-4, 0); p = 0.43 and HADS-D change: bronchiectasis -2 (-2 to -1), COPD -2 (-3 to -2); p = 0.16). Using 26 estimates, the MCID for HADS-A and HADS-D was -2 points. HADS-A and HADS-D are responsive to PR in patients with bronchiectasis and symptoms of mood disorder, with an MCID estimate of -2 points.

The Effects of a Video Intervention on Posthospitalization Pulmonary Rehabilitation Uptake. A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Rationale: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) after hospitalizations for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improves exercise capacity and health-related quality of life and reduces readmissions. However, posthospitalization PR uptake is low. To date, no trials of interventions to increase uptake have been conducted.Objectives: To study the effect of a codesigned education video as an adjunct to usual care on posthospitalization PR uptake.Methods: The present study was an assessor- and statistician-blinded randomized controlled trial with nested, qualitative interviews of participants in the intervention group. Participants hospitalized with COPD exacerbations were assigned 1:1 to receive either usual care (COPD discharge bundle including PR information leaflet) or usual care plus the codesigned education video delivered via a handheld tablet device at discharge. Randomization used minimization to balance age, sex, FEV1 % predicted, frailty, transport availability, and previous PR experience.Measurements and Main Results: The primary outcome was PR uptake within 28 days of hospital discharge. A total of 200 patients were recruited, and 196 were randomized (51% female, median FEV1% predicted, 36 [interquartile range, 27-48]). PR uptake was 41% and 34% in the usual care and intervention groups, respectively (P = 0.37), with no differences in secondary (PR referral and completion) or safety (readmissions and death) endpoints. A total of 6 of the 15 participants interviewed could not recall receiving the video.Conclusions: A codesigned education video delivered at hospital discharge did not improve posthospitalization PR uptake, referral, or completion.