%0 Journal Article %A Chou-Chin Lan %A Wen-Hua Chu %A Mei-Chen Yang %A Chih-Hsin Lee %A Yao-Kuang Wu %A Chin-Pyng Wu %T Benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD with normal exercise capacity %D 2013 %R 10.4187/respcare.02051 %J Respiratory Care %P respcare.02051 %X Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is beneficial for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with improvement in exercise capacity, healthy-related quality of life (HRQL). Despite these overall benefits, the responses to PR vary significantly among different individuals. It is not clear if PR is beneficial for patients with COPD with normal exercise capacity. We aimed to investigate the effects of PR in patients with normal exercise capacity on HRQL and exercise capacity. Methods: Twenty-six patients with COPD with normal exercise capacity were studied. All patients participated in 12-week, 2 sessions per week, hospital-based outpatient PR. Baseline and post-PR status were evaluated by spirometry, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), cardiopulmonary exercise test, respiratory muscle strength, and dyspnea scores. Results: The mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) in the patients was 1.29±0.47 L/min, 64.8±23.0% predicted. After PR, there was significant improvement in maximal VO2 and work rate. Improvements in SGRQ scores of total, symptoms, activity and impact were accompanied with improvements of exercise capacity, respiratory muscle strength, maximal O2P, and exertional dyspnea scores (all p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in pulmonary function test results (FEV1, forced vital capacity [FVC], and FEV1/FVC), minute ventilation, respiratory rate and tidal volume at rest or exercise after PR (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: Exercise training can result in significant improvement in HRQL, exercise capacity, respiratory muscle strength, and exertional dyspnea in patients with COPD with normal exercise capacity. Exercise training is still indicated for patients with normal exercise capacity. %U https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/respcare/early/2013/01/02/respcare.02051.full.pdf