Effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on exercise tolerance and cough- relatedquality of life in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients: a short term and long term effect

Background: Bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis (non-CF bronchiectasis) is a chronic respiratory condition characterized by bronchial dilatation secondary to airway inflammation, infection and dysfunction of mucociliary clearance. patient with bronchiectasis may have reduced QOLand increase anxiety and depression , reduced exercise tolerance due to prolong episode of dyspnea, excessive sputum production, breathlessness, exercise limitation and recurrent infection. Many patients experience recurrent exacerbations, with more frequent exacerbations predicting a poorer prognosis. Pulmonary rehabilitation is multidisciplinary approach which incorporates self-management strategies to promote treatment adherence and this approach has been advocated for bronchiectasis. Ground-based walking training improves quality of life and exercise capacity in patient with pulmonary disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the short term and long term effect of PR and ground based walking on exercise tolerance and cough related quality of life in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patient, and to compare effect of ground base walking and PR on exercise tolerance and cough related quality of life in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patient. Method: patient who were referred by pulmonologist and already diagnosed as having non-cystic fibrosis on CT-scan investigation were assessed before recruitment in the study.46 patient who matched inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. subjects were allocated into two equal group using random table that is control group and experimental group. experimental group was treated with PR and control group treated with ground base walking for 8-weeks.outcome measure were taken at base line and after 8-week of study. After two month of study, frequency of acute exacerbation were measured .patient were asked to maintain record of acute exacerbation for 2-month.this data will collected by telephone interview. Result: Results showed a significant improvement in both the groups but, more improvement was seen in experimental group compared to control group. Conclusion: 8-week of PR is more beneficial than ground based walking in patient with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Frequency of acute exacerbation was reduced in PR group than control group after 2 month of follow-up.