Pulmonary rehabilitation in severe post-tuberculosis sequelae - case presentation

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) still represents a chalenge for the healthcare systems, in the active but also in the chronic phase, when TB sequelae may appear. Anatomical changes and destruction of lung parenchyma lead to loss of pulmonary volumes. The patients with post TB sequelae are expresing dyspnea, chronic cough, muscle weakness and reduced daily activity. We present the case of a 58 years old patient, with post TB sequelae (2 episodes of relapses), presenting dyspnea, chronic fatigue and bronchiectatic syndrome. He was included in a 8 weeks multidiciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation program, which comprised exercise trainng, airway clearance techniques, education. The results of PR program were positives: decrease of dyspnea (one point in mMRC scale), improvement of exercise tolerance (58 m gain at 6MWT), improvement in life quality (SGRQ decrease with 5.2 points). In conclusion, pulmonary rehabilitation may be a useful therapy in the management of post tuberculosis sequelae.