Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema: effect of pulmonary rehabilitation in comparison with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of short-term comprehensive inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE), and to compare responses with those of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who underwent an identical programme.

In this study, a 3-week inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programme was assessed by pulmonary function tests, 6 min walk test and health-related quality of life (HRQL) using the Short Form-36 (SF-36). Patients were from a pulmonary ward at a 358-bed community teaching hospital.

Patients with COPD derived greater benefits than those with CPFE, from the relatively short periods of inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation.