Jeff Wilson, MD, professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, talks about pulmonary rehabilitation:
What is pulmonary rehabilitation?
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a multidisciplinary program designed to optimize the care of patients who have chronic respiratory diseases. The program has people come in, generally three days a week for eight to 12 weeks and works with them toward a variety of goals. Our program has nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, as well as physicians who all work with the patients to try to optimize their care.
Who is typically seen in pulmonary rehabilitation?
We see any patient who has chronic respiratory disease that affects his or her function or quality of life. The most common patient we see are those who have what we call chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is a combination of emphysema and chronic bronchitis. But we also see people who have asthma, different types of diseases that cause scarring in the lung, people who have what we call pulmonary hypertension which is involved with high blood pressure readings in the lung circulation. So virtually, any patient who has chronic lung disease is somebody that would be a potential candidate for pulmonary rehabilitation if it's affecting their functional status and their quality of life.
Can people refer themselves to a pulmonary rehabilitation program, or are they referred by their physician?
They can do either. People who know they have a chronic lung disease and don't believe that they're doing as well as they might, can refer themselves to a rehab program or certainly we take physician referrals, as well.
Before a person can enter the pulmonary rehabilitation program, are there steps they must take?
The biggest thing is that they're motivated to participate, meaning they want to get better and they're willing to put in the work to go through the exercise program. That they're willing to go through the educational component, learning about their disease; and if they're smokers, we'd like them to at least have the desire to stop smoking.
What is the goal or goals of pulmonary rehabilitation?
I think the most important thing is to improve people's functional status and improve their quality of life. We don't cure the lung disease with the pulmonary rehabilitation program, but we help them optimize their functional status so they can do the best that they can possibly do. And we find that when you do this, you end up reducing the need for hospitalizations and emergency room visits and keep people generally healthier.
What steps can people take to avoid the need for pulmonary rehabilitation?
The most common thing is for people who are smokers, to try to stop smoking. We offer that service, as well, as a separate service in our pulmonary rehabilitation program. That would be the single, most important thing that people could do.
Are UI Hospitals and Clinics involved in any research with regard to pulmonary function and rehabilitation?
Our program has done some research to look at whether pulmonary rehabilitation can help people that have a condition called obstructive sleep apnea, where periodically at night they have trouble with their upper airway becoming obstructed. Many of those patients are quite overweight and we found that having patients with that particular problem in pulmonary rehabilitation can help them lose weight and can help educate them about their disease and how to use the treatment that is often prescribed for it. |
