Fatigue and Quality of Life after Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program

BACKGROUND. Fatigue and poor quality of life can play an important role in chronic obstructive disease and treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the levels of fatigue and quality of life (QoL) among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients before and after a pulmonary rehabilitation program. METHODS. In this experimental study, 31 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients at a large hospital of Athens were randomly followed a pulmonary rehabilitation program and completed two questionnaires pre- and post-intervention:the Fatigue Assessment Scale designed for measuring fatigue and the Missoula -Vitas Quality of Life Index-15 designed for measuring QoL. Statistical analysis of the data was performed via the Statistical Program SPSS version 19.0.The statistical significance was set up at 0.05. RESULTS. The results showed decreased levels of fatigue after the completion of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program compared to pre -intervention. Moreover, although QoL did not seem to change after the intervention, however the dimension "Transcendent" seemed to be increased for the majority of the participants. After the participation in the rehabilitation program a statistically significant and negative correlation was observed between mental fatigue and total score of quality of life (r= -0.436, p=0.014 <0.05) as well as between physical fatigue and the dimensions of "Interpersonal" (r= -0.470 p=0.008),"Well-Being" (r= -0.615, p=0.000), "Transcendent" (r= -0.636, p=0.000) and total score of QoL (r= -0.543, p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS. A pulmonary rehabilitation program seems to be a successful and innovative clinical prevention program leading to a lower level of fatigue for those patients who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.