Salud y longevidad: beneficios de la rehabilitación pulmonar en tolerancia al ejercicio y calidad de vida en ancianos con EPOC

COPD has a high impact on the health of the elderly patient. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) offers an opportunity to improve pulmonary disease symptoms. Objective: to evaluate the effects of a PR program on exercise tolerance, dyspnea perception, fatigue and quality of life in a group of COPD patients records over 60 years old in a high complexity hospital in the city of Bogota - Colombia during the period 2017 - 2019. Methodology: analytical observational before-after study of patients attended in the period from March 01, 2017 to December 31, 2019. Patients with a diagnosis of COPD, older than 60 years and who have completed the PR program of 24 sessions of duration were selected. Results: a total of 75 individuals records were analyzed with an average age of 71 years. They presented arterial hypertension (58 %), polypharmacy (62 %), Charlson index (≥5 points) in 36 % and COPD GOLD 2 in 49 %. The exercise endurance test showed a benefit in gain in distance traveled and time across quartiles. The FiO2 used modified the distances traveled and SaO2 behavior. Dyspnea and fatigue measured by the Borg scale decreased in their values. The total score decreased for the SGRQ and CAT scales. Conclusions: PR allows a gain in exercise tolerance under a controlled and safe environment in patients over 60 years of age. The variables that stand out are distance and time covered. The patient’s perception of exercise improves in terms of dyspnea, fatigue and quality of life scales, being a beneficial factor of the rehabilitation program.