Determinants for cough improvement with pulmonary rehabilitation

Cough impacts up to 98% of people with chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) and about 50% of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) attendees. PR shows promise in enhancing cough-related quality of life (CR-QoL), yet the determinants for responsiveness, i.e., reaching clinically significant improvements, in this domain are unclear. We explored determinants of responsiveness in CR-QoL with PR in people with CRD. This retrospective study included adults with stable CRD who completed a 12-week PR program. Potential determinants were chosen based on literature and included age, sex, long-term oxygen therapy, the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ). Achieving the minimal clinical important difference (MCID) of ≥1.3 points on the LCQ total score confirmed a clinically significant response. Logistic regression was used to explore the contribution of the selected determinants to reach the MCID. 111 subjects (33%♀, 69±10years, 60% COPD) attended 88[74-96]% of PR sessions. Individuals with low CR-QoL (LCQ<17.05) or those with medium or higher disease impact (CAT≥10) were 7.2 and 4.6 times more likely to reach the MCID for the LCQ after PR, respectively (Fig 1). Exhibiting low CR-QoL or a medium or higher disease impact at baseline are determinants for improving CR-QoL with PR. Further studies should explore cough as a treatable trait in PR and strategies for those who do not respond to PR. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA328/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>