Rehabilitation of the Patient with Respiratory Dysfunction

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) for patients with primary pulmonary disease can have a great effect on quality of life, functional capacity, and activities of daily living as well as a potential effect on hospitalizations and mortality. It is a comprehensive program of exercise, education, and lifestyle modification that aims to help improve the physical and psychological condition of patients with chronic pulmonary disease while promoting a program of long-term adherence to health-enhancing behaviors. PR can be done in the acute hospital setting, on inpatient rehabilitation services, and in outpatient rehabilitation settings. The role of the rehabilitation professional is to promote appropriate activity while monitoring medical compliance and enhancing education about the disease process and physiology of patients’ exercise limitations. PR is appropriate for patients with all types of lung disease and for those who will undergo lung surgery or transplantation.