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

International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Physiology

  • Gajendra Vikram Singh1Department of TB and Chest Diseases, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra, INDIA.
  • Rajendra Prasad2Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, INDIA.
  • Surya Kant3Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, INDIA.
  • Santosh Kumar3Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, INDIA.
  • Narsingh Verma4Department of Physiology, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, INDIA.
  • Ved Prakash3Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, INDIA.
  • Ajay Kumar Verma3Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, INDIA.
  • Santosh Kumar5Department of Pharmacology, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA.
  • Arpita Singh5Department of Pharmacology, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA.

Volume 1 Issue 2 Pages 157-160

DOI: 10.4103/2348-8093.137420

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.

Keywords

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • haematocrit
  • pulmonary rehabilitation
  • secondary polycythemia
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Physiology

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