The Link Between Outpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Mortality in Symptomatic COPD Patients: Is PR a possibility in reducing mortality?

Aim: The effect of outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (OPR) on mortality in COPD patients is little understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of completing an OPR program on 3-year mortality in patients with COPD. Materials and methods: The study included 447 COPD patients who were eligible for the OPR between January 2012 and December 2015. While 288 COPD patients finished the program (8 weeks, 2 times a week), 159 individuals did not begin the program or dropped out. The findings were classified into three groups: those who completed the program, those who dropped out, and those who did not begin the program. Conclusion: After 3-years follow up, the mortality of the patients who completed the program were statistically significantly lower than those who did not. As a result of the cox regression, multivariate analysis to measure the effect of PR, the mortality of patients who dropped out the PR was 1.93 times higher than those who completed it (p=0.012, HR:1.1-3.2). The mortality of patients who did not start PR was 2.08 times higher than those who completed it (p=0.014, HR:1.1-3.7). The mortality rate of patients with COPD who completed the PR program was found to be lower. Keywords: COPD, pulmonary rehabilitation, mortality, health status, exercise capacity