Quality of aerobic training description and its relation to intervention efficacy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease trials: study protocol for a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major global health concern, characterised by ventilatory constraints, decreased cardiovascular fitness and reduced limb muscle function, profoundly affecting patients' quality of life. Aerobic training plays a crucial role in the treatment of COPD, but the variability in methodologies and incomplete reporting of key components in aerobic training trials limits the assessment of their effectiveness. This systematic review aims to critically evaluate the application of training principles and reporting of key components in aerobic training trials in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the COPD literature.

Relationship between Volitional and Non-Volitional Quadriceps Muscle Endurance in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Volitional assessment of quadriceps muscle endurance is clinically relevant in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, studies that determine the construct validity of volitional tests by comparing them to non-volitional measures are lacking. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to evaluate the correlation between volitional and non-volitional quadriceps muscle endurance in patients with COPD.

Frequency and Functional Consequences of Low Appendicular Lean Mass and Sarcopenic Obesity in Patients with Asthma Referred for Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Introduction: One of the most prominent extrapulmonary manifestations in patients with chronic respiratory disease is changes in body weight and composition. However, the frequency and functional consequences of low appendicular lean mass (ALM) or sarcopenic obesity (SO) in patients with asthma are largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess the frequency and functional consequences of low appendicular lean mass index (ALMI) and SO in patients with asthma.

Test-retest reliability, construct validity and determinants of 6-minute walk test performance in adult patients with asthma.

Introduction And Objectives: Current knowledge regarding the measurement properties of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) in patients with asthma is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability, measurement error and construct validity of the 6MWT and identify determinants of 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) in patients with asthma.

Patients And Methods: 201 asthma patients referred for pre-pulmonary rehabilitation assessment, were retrospectively analyzed (age 61±12 years, 42% male, FEV 78±27% predicted).

Isokinetic testing of quadriceps function in COPD: feasibility, responsiveness, and minimal important differences in patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation.

Background: Isokinetic testing of peripheral muscle function is valid and reliable in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Objective: To evaluate whether and to what extent isokinetic testing of quadriceps function meets pre-defined test criteria in patients with COPD; to determine the response to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), and to calculate minimal important differences (MIDs) of isokinetic quadriceps function.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 2033 patients with COPD (age: 65±9 years, body mass index: 26±6 kg/m, FEV: 49±22% predicted) who followed a comprehensive PR program.

Short Physical Performance Battery: Response to Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Minimal Important Difference Estimates in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Objective: To determine the response to a pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program and minimal important differences (MIDs) for the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) subtests and SPPB summary score in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Design: Retrospective analysis using distribution- and anchor-based methods.

Setting: PR center in the Netherlands including a comprehensive 40-session 8-week inpatient or 14-week outpatient program.

Isotonic quadriceps endurance is better associated with daily physical activity than quadriceps strength and power in COPD: an international multicentre cross-sectional trial.

Knowledge about modifiable determinants of daily physical activity (PA) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is crucial to design effective PA interventions. The present study aimed to determine the contribution of quadriceps strength, power and endurance to daily PA in COPD. Additionally, for quadriceps endurance, we also aimed to determine to what extent the association varies according to the mode of movement (isotonic, isometric, or isokinetic).

Correlates of variability in endurance shuttle walk test time in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: The endurance shuttle walk test (ESWT) is used to evaluate exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The recommended pre-intervention tolerated duration (Tlim) is between 3-8 minutes for optimal interpretation of treatment effects. However, this window may be exceeded and factors determining ESWT Tlim are not completely understood.

Specific Contribution of Quadriceps Muscle Strength, Endurance, and Power to Functional Exercise Capacity in People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Multicenter Study.

Objective: Various functional muscle properties affect different aspects of functional exercise capacity in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of quadriceps muscle strength, endurance, and power to 6-Minute Walking Distance (6MWD) and 1-minute sit-to-stand test (1STS) performance in people with COPD.

Methods: The study was a prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study.

Beta-alanine supplementation in patients with COPD receiving non-linear periodised exercise training or neuromuscular electrical stimulation: protocol of two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

Introduction: Exercise intolerance is common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and, although multifactorial, it is largely caused by lower-limb muscle dysfunction. Research has shown that patients with severe to very severe COPD have significantly lower levels of muscle carnosine, which acts as a pH buffer and antioxidant. Beta-alanine (BA) supplementation has been shown to consistently elevate muscle carnosine in a variety of populations and may therefore improve exercise tolerance and lower-limb muscle function.

Phenotypic Characteristics of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease After Stratification for the Short Physical Performance Battery Summary Score.

Objective: To assess the phenotypic characteristics of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) after stratification for Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) summary scores and to determine phenotypic characteristics of the SPPB summary score at the start of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR).

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional.

Setting: Baseline assessment for PR program.

Impact of mild-to-moderate exacerbations on outcomes of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in patients with COPD.

Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are common among patients attending pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) and may compromise its outcomes. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) seems one of the few exercise modalities that can actually be continued during AECOPD, due to its low burden on the impaired respiratory and cardiovascular system. However, the quality of evidence is low.

Inter-day test-retest reliability and feasibility of isokinetic, isometric, and isotonic measurements to assess quadriceps endurance in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A multicenter study.

The aims were to determine reliability and feasibility of measurements to assess quadriceps endurance in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Sixty participants (forced expiratory volume in one second (mean ± standard deviation) 55 ± 18% of predicted, age 67 ± 8 years) were tested in an inter-day, test-retest design. Isokinetic, isometric, and isotonic protocols were performed using a computerized dynamometer.

Quality of resistance training description in COPD trials: study protocol for a systematic review.

Introduction: Limb muscle dysfunction is a common manifestation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Optimising of limb muscle function is therefore an important goal during pulmonary rehabilitation of patients with COPD. Resistance training (RT) is the best available intervention to achieve this goal.

Effect and feasibility of non-linear periodized resistance training in people with COPD: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: In people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), limb-muscle dysfunction is one of the most troublesome systemic manifestations of the disease, which at the functional level is evidenced by reduced strength and endurance of limb muscles. Improving limb-muscle function is an important therapeutic goal of COPD management, for which resistance training is recommended. However, current guidelines for resistance training in COPD mainly focus on improving muscle strength which only reflects one aspect of limb-muscle function and does not address the issue of reduced muscle endurance.

Validity, Reliability, and Responsiveness of the Dutch Version of the London Chest Activity of Daily Living Scale in Patients With Severe COPD.

This study assesses the validity, reliability, and responsiveness of the Dutch version of the London Chest Activity of Daily Living scale (LCADL).The English LCADL version was translated into Dutch and then back-translated to English to check if the translation was conceptually equivalent to the original LCADL.Measurement properties were evaluated in191 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (70 males; age 62 ± 9 years; FEV1 33 ± 10% pred).

Exercise training in pulmonary rehabilitation.

Exercise training remains a cornerstone of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with chronic respiratory disease. The choice of type of exercise training depends on the physiologic requirements and goals of the individual patient as well as the available equipment at the PR center. Current evidence suggests that, at ground walking exercise training, Nordic walking exercise training, resistance training, water-based exercise training, tai chi, and nonlinear periodized exercise are all feasible and effective in (subgroups) of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Nonlinear exercise training in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is superior to traditional exercise training. A randomized trial.

Rationale: The optimal exercise training intensity and strategy for individualized exercise training in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not clear.

Objectives: This study compares the effects of nonlinear periodized exercise (NLPE) training used in athletes to traditional endurance and progressive resistance (EPR) training in patients with severe COPD.

Methods: A total of 110 patients with severe COPD (FEV1 32% predicted) were randomized to EPR or NLPE.

Participation in daily life of children with asthma.

Asthma can have a negative effect on psychological and social well-being in childhood. Sports participation, school attendance, and quality of life are important issues for children with asthma and their parents. However, a structural evaluation of these factors is not always incorporated in the routine medical approach of children with asthma.

No differences in physical activity in (un)diagnosed asthma and healthy controls.

To establish whether asthma affects physical activity levels in children (aged 7-10 years) we evaluated physical activity levels in children with undiagnosed asthma (UDA), diagnosed asthma (DA), and healthy controls (HCs). A cross-sectional community-based study was performed which included a parental questionnaire on their child's respiratory health, and testing of airway reversibility and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). DA was defined as the parents' confirmation of a physician's diagnosis of asthma in the past 12 months.

Aerobic exercise in adolescents with obesity: preliminary evaluation of a modular training program and the modified shuttle test.

Background: Increasing activity levels in adolescents with obesity requires the development of exercise programs that are both attractive to adolescents and easily reproducible. The aim of this study was to develop a modular aerobic training program for adolescents with severe obesity, with a focus on variety, individual targets and acquiring physical skills. We report here the effects on aerobic fitness from a pilot study.

Dietary supplementation with multiple micronutrients: no beneficial effects in pediatric cystic fibrosis patients.

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are subjected to increased oxidative stress due to chronic pulmonary inflammation and recurrent infections. Additionally, these patients have diminished skeletal muscle performance and exercise capacity. We hypothesize that a mixture of multiple micronutrients could have beneficial effects on pulmonary function and muscle performance.

Validation of the Dutch cystic fibrosis questionnaire (CFQ) in adolescents and adults.

Background: This study assesses the reliability and validity of the Dutch version of a disease-specific measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for adolescents and adults with CF (CFQ-14+). The 47-item CFQ-14+ covers nine domains, three symptom scales and one health perception scale.

Methods: To assess psychometric characteristics of the CFQ-14+, cross-sectional (homogeneity, discriminative and construct validity) and test-retest designs were used.