Abstract
Objective:
To investigate the short- and long-term effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Data sources:
An electronic search of MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Central databases along with hand search of relevant papers were performed on 15 March 2018.
Review methods:
This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched the literature for randomized controlled trials of pulmonary rehabilitation in IPF patients. The outcomes were exercise capacity and health-related quality of life. Two authors independently extracted data, assessed trial eligibility and risk of bias. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan and STATA software.
Results:
We extracted data from four randomized controlled trials (142 participants). At short-term follow-up, pulmonary rehabilitation significantly enhanced 6-minute walk distance (6-MWD; weighted mean difference (WMD) = 38.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.64–72.12,
Conclusion:
In patients with IPF, pulmonary rehabilitation showed short-term effects in enhancing exercise capacity and health-related quality of life, while it had no detectable effects at long-term follow-up.
Keywords
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