Assessment of pulmonary rehabilitation efficacy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients using the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test

Abstract

Aim: We evaluated the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) assessment test (CAT) and improvements after pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) and PR efficiency in COPD patients. Methods & results: Forty COPD patients completed PR. After PR, mean change in CAT score was found to be 13 (p < 0.001), Medical Research Council (MRC), St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SRGQ) and London Chest Activity Daily Living (LCADL) scores decreased, while Endurance Shuttle Walking Test (ESWT) time and Incremental Shuttle Walking Test (ISWT) distance increased significantly. Baseline CAT scores correlated with MRC, SRGQtotal, %FVC, ISWT, ESWT, LCADL. Change in CAT was significantly correlated with changes in MRC, SGRQtotal, LCADL-leisure scores, and ESWT. Conclusion: CAT score shows moderate degree correlation with some measures of outcome of PR and response to PR efficacy.

Keywords:

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test
• exercise capacity
• pulmonary rehabilitation
• quality of life

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Key issues

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic disease that is characterized by progressive dyspnea which effects quality of life and exercise capacity.

• Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programs has been shown to improve those limitations.

• PR needs reliable and practical tests for evaluation of PR efficacy and follow-up for which, COPD assessment test (CAT) score seems to be an all-around good candidate.

• We found significant correlation between CAT score and some measures of outcome such as sensation of dyspnea, exercise endurance, health related quality of life and daily living activity.

• The CAT score can be a more effective and rapid tool than other more time-consuming questionnaires for the evaluation of the efficacy of PR programs in COPD patients participating in a PR program.

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