Performance changes for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on long-term oxygen therapy after physiotherapy.

Objective: To investigate whether patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on long-term oxygen therapy would benefit from an early 8-week rehabilitation programme in terms of exercise performance, health-related quality of life and activities of daily living.

Methods: Two weeks after onset of oxygen therapy, 20 patients were randomized to rehabilitation (group A) or not (group B). Exercise performance was measured using a 6-minute walking test.