%0 Journal Article %A Cristina I. O. Jácome %A Alda S. P. D. Marques %T Pulmonary rehabilitation for mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a 1 systematic review %D 2013 %R 10.4187/respcare.02742 %J Respiratory Care %P respcare.02742 %X Introduction: Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is effective in improving exercise capacity and health-related quality of life in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD. Quadriceps strength and health-related quality of life (HRQL) can be impaired in patients with mild COPD, therefore, patients at this grade may already benefit from PR. However, the impact of PR in mild COPD remains unestablished. Thus, this systematic review assessed the impact of PR on exercise capacity, HRQL, healthcare resource use and lung function in patients with mild COPD. Methods: The Web of knowledge, EBSCO, MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases were searched up to April 2013. Reviewers independently selected studies according to the eligibility criteria. Results: Three studies with different designs (retrospective, one group pretest-posttest and randomized control trial) were included. Outpatient PR programs were implemented in two studies, which included mainly aerobic, strength and respiratory muscle training. The randomized control trial compared a PR home-based program, consisting of 6 months of walking and ball game activities, with standard medical treatment. Significant improvements on exercise capacity (effect size-ES 0.874 and 1.816) and HRQL (ES from 0.236 to 0.860) were found when comparing pre-post data and when comparing PR with standard medical treatment. In one study, a significant decrease in hospitalization days was found (ES 0.380). No significant effects were observed on the number of emergency department visits (ES 0.320), number of hospitalizations (ES 0.219) or lung function (ES 0.198). Conclusion: Most of the PR programs had significant positive effects on exercise capacity and HRQL of patients with mild COPD however, their effects on healthcare resource use and lung function were inconclusive. This systematic review suggests that patients with mild COPD may benefit from PR; however insufficient evidence is still available. Studies with robust designs and with longer follow-ups should be conducted. %U https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/respcare/early/2013/10/08/respcare.02742.full.pdf