Q Quuaalliittyy ooff lliiffee iinn ppaattiieennttss w wiitthh cchhrroonniicc oobbssttrruuccttiivvee ppuullmmoonnaarryy d diisseeaassee iimmpprroovveess aafftteerr rreehhaabbiilliittaattiioonn aatt hhoommee

We have developed a rehabilitation programme at home and have investigated its effects on quality of life (QOL), lung function, and exercise toler- ance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We studied 43 patients with severe airflow obstruction: forced expiratory vol- ume in one second (FEV1) 1.3±0.4 l (mean±SD), FEV1/inspiratory vital capacity (IVC) 37±7.9%. After stratification, 28 patients were randomly allocated in a home reha- bilitation programme for 12 weeks. Fifteen patients in a control group received no rehabilitation. The rehabilitation group received physiotherapy by the local physiotherapist, and supervision by a nurse and a general practitioner. Quality of life was assessed by the four dimensions of the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ). We found a highly significant improvement in the rehabilitation group compared to the control group for the dimensions dyspnoea, emotion, and mastery. Lung function showed no changes in the rehabilitation group. The exercise tolerance improved significantly in the rehabilitation group compared to the control group. The improvement in quality of life was not correlated with the improvement in exercise tolerance. Rehabilitation of COPD patients at home may improve quality of life; this improve- ment is not correlated with an improvement in lung function and exercise tolerance.