The impact of respiratory specialist nurse-driven pulmonary rehabilitation care on respiratory function in ICU discharged severe pneumonia patients

This study aims to evaluate the impact of respiratory specialist nurse-driven pulmonary rehabilitation care on the respiratory function of intensive care unit (ICU)-discharged severe pneumonia patients. This study is a retrospective cohort study, including 62 severe pneumonia patients discharged from the ICU of our hospital between February and December 2024. Propensity score matching was used to match the experimental group (received pulmonary rehabilitation care intervention) and the control group (received routine care), with 31 patients in each group. The study assessed the blood gas indicators, pulmonary function, dyspnea score, and exercise capacity of both groups on Day 1, Day 7, and at discharge. Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for between-group and within-group comparisons, with statistical significance set at P < .05. The baseline characteristics of the 2 groups were similar. The average age of the intervention group (n = 31) was 66 ± 7 years, with 67.7% male, while the average age of the control group (n = 31) was 65 ± 8 years, with 64.5% male. In the comparison between the intervention group and the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvement in respiratory function on Day 7 and at discharge. The arterial partial pressure of oxygen level in the intervention group (97.0 vs 88.0 mm Hg) and the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide level (40.0 vs 44.0 mm Hg) were significantly better than those of the control group (P < .05). Furthermore, the forced vital capacity (2.50 vs 2.20 L) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (1.90 vs 1.65 L) in the intervention group were also significantly higher on Day 7 and at discharge compared to the control group (P < .05). The intervention group also showed significant improvement in the Modified Medical Research Council (Dyspnea Scale) score (2.0 vs 3.0) and the 6-minute walk distance (220 vs 180 m) (P < .05). Respiratory specialist nurse-driven pulmonary rehabilitation care significantly improved the oxygenation, pulmonary function, dyspnea, and exercise capacity of ICU-discharged severe pneumonia patients. This indicates that pulmonary rehabilitation care has a positive impact on the early recovery of severe pneumonia patients and is worth promoting in clinical practice.