Effects of pulmonary rehabilitation therapy combined with conventional drugs on BODE and pulmonary function indexes in elderly patients with interstitial pneumonia

Objectives: To investigate the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation therapy combined with conventional drugs on BODE and pulmonary function (PFT) indexes in elderly patients with interstitial pneumonia.

Methods: Records of 89 elderly patients with interstitial pneumonia treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Medical College from April 2020 to April 2021 were retrospectively selected. Of them, 41 patients received conventional drug treatment (Group-I) and 48 patients received pulmonary rehabilitation treatment and conventional drug treatment (Group-II). The clinical efficacy of therapy, BODE and PFT indexes of the two groups were compared.

Results: The total efficacy of patients in the Group-II (93.75%) was significantly higher than that of Group-I (75.61%) (P<0.05). After the treatment, the BODE index score of Group-II was lower than that of Group-I, and the forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) were higher than those of Group-I (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Combination of pulmonary rehabilitation therapy and conventional drugs can further improve the curative effect of the treatment and help to improve BODE and PFT indexes in patients with senile interstitial pneumonia.