The objective of this study was to analyze the results of a multimodal therapeutic program during hospitalization in obese AECOPD patients. This was a randomized, single-blind clinical trial conducted at two university hospitals in Granada, Spain. Forty-nine patients hospitalized due to AECOPD were randomly allocated to a control group (CG), in which patients received standard care, or to an intervention group (IG), in which patients were included in a multimodal therapeutic program, added to the standard care. The main outcome measures were pulmonary, physical (strength and exercise capacity) and perceived (dyspnea, quality of life and psychological distress) variables. Within-group significant improvements (p < 0.05) were found in physical and perceived variables in the IG after the treatment. In the CG, a significant decrease was found in lower limb strength and a significant improvement in dyspnea and in three subscales of the EuroQol-5D questionnaire. The between-groups analysis showed significant differences after the treatment on lower limb strength and exercise capacity values (p < 0.05), in three of the EuroQol-5D subscales, and in the total score and the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A multimodal therapeutic program has a beneficial effect on physical functioning and perceived variables in hospitalized obese patients with AECOPD.
Keywords: exacerbation; exercise; hospital stay; pulmonary rehabilitation.