Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease Exacerbated

Resistance exercise applications during acute exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are employed to enhance functional capacity and prevent muscle atrophy by increasing muscle strength. Owing to the limited cardiorespiratory reserve of COPD patients, single-limb exercises are better tolerated compared to traditional bilateral exercises. A study conducted by Vogiatzis et al. (2009) indicated that single-leg exercises require lower ventilation and result in more efficient oxygen consumption than bilateral exercises. This physiological advantage may be effective in reducing muscle weakness by increasing exercise endurance in COPD patients with restricted respiratory capacity. The present study aims to demonstrate that single-limb resistance exercise is an effective rehabilitation method for increasing functional exercise capacity in patients during COPD exacerbations compared to a control group. Furthermore, the therapeutic effects of single-limb resistance exercises on dyspnea perception, fatigue, anxiety, and depression will be established. The study will also show that these exercises are both feasible and safe within rehabilitation protocols during the exacerbation period.

This is a pilot study to evaluate the role digital inhaler technology on patients with obstructive lung disease in preventing admissions and exacerbation, as well as improving symptom control. The primary objective is to evaluate feasibility of study protocol, patient recruitment, and patient retention with goal recruitment of 20 participants, 60% recruitment success, and 60% retention rate for 6 months duration. The secondary objectives are the evaluation of patient admission rate, exacerbation rates, and symptoms control with use of digital inhaler technology The subject population will be patients with physician diagnosed obstructive lung disease.