Long-term Impact of Pulmonary Rehabilitation

This study has been designed to capture a large group of patients who undergo pulmonary rehabilitation and map their progression over a 5 year time-frame. The outcome measures have been chosen to capture physiological, functional capacity, free-living activities plus admission and exacerbation rates thereby enhancing our understanding of the potential effects exercise and self management techniques may have on the disease progression. Pulmonary rehabilitation has not been shown to reduce inflammation; therefore, unlike acute exacerbation's where a decrease in inflammation indicates recovery, the exact mechanisms responsible for improvement during pulmonary rehabilitation are as yet unknown.