Pulmonary rehabilitation following acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

〈LEAP〉 highlights the findings and application of Cochrane reviews and other evidence pertinent to the practice of physical therapy. The Cochrane Library is a respected source of reliable evidence related to health care. Cochrane systematic reviews explore the evidence for and against the effectiveness and appropriateness of interventions - medications, surgery, education, nutrition, exercise - and the evidence for and against the use of diagnostic tests for specific conditions. Cochrane reviews are designed to facilitate the decisions of clinicians, patients, and others in health care by providing a careful review and interpretation of research studies published in the scientific literature. Each article in this new PTJ series will summarize a Cochrane review or other scientific evidence resource on a single topic and will present clinical scenarios based on real patients to illustrate how the results of the review can be used to directly inform clinical decisions. The first article in the series focuses on a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who has had a recent exacerbation that required medical intervention. Should this patient undergo pulmonary rehabilitation?