Pulmonary Rehabilitation Yielded Similar Benefits for Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis or COPD

Pulmonary rehabilitation, which improves symptoms and exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), has been proposed for managing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), albeit with limited supporting evidence. To determine the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with IPF, researchers at a single center in the U.K. compared outcomes of 163 patients with IPF and 163 patients with COPD who underwent pulmonary rehabilitation; the two groups were propensity-matched on symptom scores and results of walking tests.

The pulmonary rehabilitation program consisted of 8 weeks of supervised outpatient exercise and education, along with independent exercises at home. Completion rates were similar for patient…