Should we exclude elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from a long-time ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation programme?

Objective: To assess the outcomes of a 6-month comprehensive multidisciplinary outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programme in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease according to age.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Patients: A total of 140 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 3-4) admitted to our centre for pulmonary rehabilitation.