Home-centred physical fitness programme in morbidly obese individuals: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of domiciliary physical fitness programmes in obese individuals.

Design: Nine-month randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Home-based intervention with outpatient visits.

Interdisciplinary rehabilitation in morbidly obese subjects: an observational pilot study.

Background And Aim: To assess the clinical effectiveness of a interdisciplinary rehabilitation programme (CR), in a population of morbidly obese subjects we have undertaken a observational study.

Methods: The study included fifty-nine adult subjects (18 M, 60+/-10 years, BMI 47+/-8) with sleep-disturbance related symptoms and disabilities. Assessment and correction of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) abnormalities, improvement of exercise tolerance, body weight and associated psychological features were the aims of this CR, which has been carried out over a 1 month period.

Effects of respiratory therapist-directed protocol on prescription and outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD inpatients.

Background: The use of respiratory therapist-directed (RD) protocols in non-ICU hospitalized patients decreases respiratory care charges as compared with physician-directed (PD) protocols.

Objectives: To determine whether RD or PD protocol assessments in COPD patients may impact: (1) prescription of respiratory treatments, and (2) outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation program (PRP).

Methods: In a retrospective observational case-control study, 73 cases (RD) were compared with controls (PD) matched for age, sex, FEV1 and diagnosis of either chronic airflow obstruction (CAO), pulmonary emphysema (PE) or chronic respiratory insufficiency (CRI).