Effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on secondary polycythemia in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A pilot study

Gajendra Vikram Singh; Rajendra Prasad; Surya Kant; Santosh Kumar; Narsingh Verma; Ved Prakash; Ajay Kumar Verma; Santosh Kumar; Arpita Singh

Gajendra Vikram Singh Department of TB and Chest Diseases, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Rajendra Prasad Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
Surya Kant Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India
Santosh Kumar Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India
Narsingh Verma Department of Physiology, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India
Ved Prakash Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India
Ajay Kumar Verma Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India
Santosh Kumar Department of TB and Chest Diseases, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Arpita Singh Department of Pharmacology, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Keywords: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Haematocrit, Pulmonary rehabilitation, Secondary polycythemia

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health issue worldwide. Secondary polycythemia is common in COPD. There are reports of improvement in pulmonary functions by various rehabilitatory pulmonary exercise programs. However, the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on secondary polycythemia has not yet been fully assessed. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the effect of a short course (10 weeks) of pulmonary rehabilitation program (PRP) on secondary polycythemia in 26 subjects, divided into cases (n = 14) and controls (n = 12). In cases (those who received PRP), the percentage decrease in hematocrit was significant compared to the controls (who did not receive PRP). This pilot study suggests that PRP could be beneficial in the treatment of COPD especially for decreasing hematocrit.