The Efficacy of Personalized Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs on Recovery Outcomes in COPD Patients During Acute Exacerbations

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a core component of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management; however, its implementation during acute exacerbations remains variable, particularly with respect to individualized approaches. This study aimed to evaluate the association between inpatient personalized PR and recovery-related clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital between January 2021 and June 2024. Hospitalized patients aged ≥40 years with spirometry-confirmed COPD who experienced AECOPD and completed an inpatient personalized PR program were included. The rehabilitation program was initiated within 48-72 h of clinical stabilization and tailored based on baseline symptom burden, functional capacity, dyspnea severity, oxygen saturation, and exercise tolerance. Primary outcomes included changes in the COPD assessment test (CAT), modified medical research council (mMRC) dyspnea scale, and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) distance from baseline to program completion. Secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay and 30-day readmission rates. A total of 200 patients were included in the analysis. Mean CAT scores decreased from 25.4 ± 4.6 at baseline to 17.2 ± 3.8 following rehabilitation (p < 0.001). Mean mMRC dyspnea scores improved from 3.1 ± 0.8 to 2.0 ± 0.7 (p < 0.001). Functional exercise capacity increased, with the mean 6MWT distance improving from 210 ± 68 m to 310 ± 75 m (p < 0.001). The average length of hospital stay was reduced from 10.5 ± 3.2 days to 6.3 ± 2.1 days (p < 0.001), and 30-day readmission rates decreased from 25% to 10% (p < 0.001). In this retrospective cohort, inpatient personalized PR implemented during AECOPD was associated with improvements in symptom burden, dyspnea severity, functional exercise capacity, and selected healthcare utilization outcomes.