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Data de publicació electrònica: 02-05-2023 Objectives: To identify prognostic models which estimate the risk of critical COVID-19 in hospitalized patients and to assess their validation properties. Study design and setting: We conducted a systematic review in Medline (up to January 2021) of studies developing or updating a model that estimated the risk of critical COVID-19, defined as death, admission to intensive care unit, and/or use of mechanical ventilation during admission. Models were validated in two datasets with different backgrounds (HM [private Spanish hospital network], n = 1,753, and ICS [public Catalan health system], n = 1,104), by assessing discrimination (area under the curve [AUC]) and calibration (plots). Results: We validated 18 prognostic models. Discrimination was good in nine of them (AUCs ≥ 80%) and higher in those predicting mortality (AUCs 65%-87%) than those predicting intensive care unit admission or a composite outcome (AUCs 53%-78%). Calibration was poor in all models providing outcome's probabilities and good in four models providing a point-based score. These four models used mortality as outcome and included age, oxygen saturation, and C-reactive protein among their predictors. Conclusion: The validity of models predicting critical COVID-19 by using only routinely collected predictors is variable. Four models showed good discrimination and calibration when externally validated and are recommended for their use.

Resumen La nueva edicion de 2021 de la Guia Espanola de la EPOC (GesEPOC 2021) propone, junto al tratamiento farmacologico ajustado por estratificacion de riesgo y fenotipo, el abordaje personalizado de los rasgos tratables, definidos como una caracteristica (clinica, fisiologica o biologica) que se puede identificar mediante pruebas diagnosticas o biomarcadores y que tiene un tratamiento especifico. Existen algunos rasgos tratables que tienen un tratamiento no farmacologico y que no fueron contemplados en detalle en la guia, como puede ser la desnutricion, el sedentarismo, el enfisema o la insuficiencia respiratoria. En este capitulo de GesEPOC 2021 se presenta una actualizacion narrativa con recomendaciones sobre tratamiento dietetico, actividad fisica, rehabilitacion respiratoria, oxigenoterapia, ventilacion no invasiva, reduccion de volumen y trasplante pulmonar. Ademas, se incluye una pregunta PICO con recomendacion sobre el uso de oxigeno suplementario durante el ejercicio en pacientes con EPOC sin hipoxemia grave.

Objective the main objective was to assess repeatability and learning effect of the six-minute walk test (6MWT) in a cohort of preoperative cancer patients referred to a prehabilitation program. As a secondary objective we aimed to identify determinants of improvement in the second test. Materials and Methods secondary analysis from a large prospective study on the implementation of a multimodal prehabilitation program in a real-life scenario. Eligible patients were assessed at baseline before starting the prehabilitation program. The 6MWT was conducted according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS)/ European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines with two tests being performed under identical conditions separated by 30 minutes. The distance covered (in meters) and the physiological responses (heart rate, oxygen saturation, fatigue and dyspnea) to each test were recorded and compared. Results 170 patients (60.9%) were analyzed. Repeatability of the distance covered with the 6MWT was excellent (ICC = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.92 – 0.99), but a mean increase of +19.5 meters (95% CI: 15.6 - 23.5m; p=

(1) Background and aim: This study aimed to investigate the impact of prehabilitation on the postoperative outcomes of heart transplantation and its cost-effectiveness. (2) Methods: This single-center, ambispective cohort study included forty-six candidates for elective heart transplantation from 2017 to 2021 attending a multimodal prehabilitation program consisting of supervised exercise training, physical activity promotion, nutritional optimization, and psychological support. The postoperative course was compared to a control cohort consisting of patients transplanted from 2014 to 2017 and those contemporaneously not involved in prehabilitation. (3) Results: A significant improvement was observed in preoperative functional capacity (endurance time 281 vs. 728 s, p < 0.001) and quality-of-life (Minnesota score 58 vs. 47, p = 0.046) after the program. No exercise-related events were registered. The prehabilitation cohort showed a lower rate and severity of postoperative complications (comprehensive complication index 37 vs. 31, p = 0.033), lower mechanical ventilation time (37 vs. 20 h, p = 0.032), ICU stay (7 vs. 5 days, p = 0.01), total hospitalization stay (23 vs. 18 days, p = 0.008) and less need for transfer to nursing/rehabilitation facilities after hospital discharge (31% vs. 3%, p = 0.009). A cost-consequence analysis showed that prehabilitation did not increase the total surgical process costs. (4) Conclusions: Multimodal prehabilitation before heart transplantation has benefits on short-term postoperative outcomes potentially attributable to enhancement of physical status, without cost-increasing.

Many people recovering from an acute episode of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) experience prolonged symptoms. Exercise testing is a feasible and cost-effective option for assessing exercise tolerance, fatigue, and dyspnea related to effort. Being that the Chester step test (CST) is a progressive, submaximal test for predicting aerobic capacity, it could be a good option to explore. This study aimed to determine the reproducibility of CST for assessing exertional desaturation and exercise capacity in patients post-COVID-19 disease. A cross-sectional study was conducted on post-COVID-19 patients. Two attempts of the CST were performed. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess agreement between the two tests. Forty-two symptomatic post-COVID-19 patients were included, the mean age was 53.8 ± 10.3 years, and 52% were female. There was no significant difference between both tests (p = 0.896). Twenty-four percent of participants (10 cases) had a clinically significant decrease in SpO2 at the first assessment, compared to 30.1% (13 cases) at the second, with no significant difference. An ICC of 0.993 (95% CI: 0.987 to 0.996) was obtained for the total number of steps in the CST.

Review question / Objective: Is pulmonary rehabilitation an effective intervention in patients with sarcoidosis? Condition being studied: Sarcoidosis. Eligibility criteria: We will include studies published until March 2022. The population studied must be adults (>18y) with diagnosis of sarcoidosis that performed a structured program of pulmonary rehabilitation. We will include only outpatients. They must be patients with stable disease and without exacerbation for at least one month.

Background: Physical activity and exercise capacity are key prognostic factors in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but their environmental determinants are unknown. Objectives: To test the association between urban environment and objective physical activity, physical activity experience and exercise capacity in COPD. Methods: We studied 404 patients with mild-to-very severe COPD from a multi-city study in Catalonia, Spain. We measured objective physical activity (step count and sedentary time) by the Dynaport MoveMonitor, physical activity experience (difficulty with physical activity) by the Clinical visit-PROactive (C-PPAC) instrument, and exercise capacity by the 6-min walk distance (6MWD). We estimated individually (geocoded to the residential address) population density, pedestrian street length, slope of terrain, and long-term (i.e., annual) exposure to road traffic noise, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5). We built single- and multi-exposure mixed-effects linear regressions with a random intercept for city, adjusting for confounders. Results: Patients were 85% male, had mean (SD) age 69 (9) years and walked 7524 (4045) steps/day. In multi-exposure models, higher population density was associated with fewer steps, more sedentary time and worse exercise capacity (−507 [95% CI: 1135, 121] steps, +0.2 [0.0, 0.4] h/day and −13 [-25, 0] m per IQR). Pedestrian street length related with more steps and less sedentary time (156 [9, 304] steps and −0.1 [-0.1, 0.0] h/day per IQR). Steeper slope was associated with better exercise capacity (15 [3, 27] m per IQR). Higher NO2 levels related with more sedentary time and more difficulty in physical activity. PM2.5 and noise were not associated with physical activity or exercise capacity. Discussion: Population density, pedestrian street length, slope and NO2 exposure relate to physical activity and capacity of COPD patients living in highly populated areas. These findings support the consideration of neighbourhood environmental factors during COPD management and the attention to patients with chronic diseases when developing urban and transport planning policies. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

BACKGROUND Continuous physiological measurements during a laboratory-based exercise test can provide physiological biomarkers, such as heart rate (HR) and oxygen uptake (V̇O2) kinetics, that carry clinically relevant information. In contrast, it is not yet clear how continuous data generated during daily life routines by wearable devices could provide meaningful biomarkers that, in turn, could improve telemonitoring applications. OBJECTIVE To determine whether valid HR and V̇O2 kinetics can be obtained from measurements with wearable devices during outdoor walks in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As a secondary objective, we aimed to determine whether the amount of valid kinetics and kinetic model performance was comparable between outdoor walks and a conventional, laboratory-based exercise test. METHODS Eight patients with COPD measured HR (Polar Belt) and V̇O2 (METAMAX 3B) during three outdoor walks of different intensities and a six-minute walk test. For every patient and walk/test, HR and V̇O2 data were extracted after the following physical activity transitions: (i) starting a walk/test, (ii) finishing a walk/test and (iii) walking upstairs. An additional, averaged HR and V̇O2 response during outdoor walks was generated for each type of transition of every patient. Kinetic models were used to describe every separate and averaged HR and V̇O2 response when participants started a walk, finished a walk and walked upstairs. HR and V̇O2 kinetics were considered valid if the response magnitude and model fit were adequate, and model parameters were reliable. Kinetic model performance was assessed by model fit and standard errors of the parameter estimates. RESULTS Most HR kinetics were valid when starting (range 75% to 100% for separate walks; 100% for the averaged response) or finishing (range 63% to 88% for separate walks; 100% for the averaged response) an outdoor walk, but not when walking upstairs (≤29%). Many V̇O2 kinetics were valid when finishing (range 63% to 100% for separate walks; 100% for the averaged response), but not when starting an outdoor walk (range 38% to 50% for separate walks; 88% for the averaged response) or when walking upstairs (0%). The amount of valid kinetics, and kinetic model performance (P>.05), when starting/finishing an outdoor walk was comparable to starting (HR: 100%; V̇O2: 50%) or finishing (HR: 88%; V̇O2: 75%) a laboratory-based six-minute walk test. CONCLUSIONS Continuous measurements with wearable devices can provide valid HR kinetics when starting or finishing, and valid V̇O2 kinetics when finishing, an outdoor walk in patients with COPD. The amount of valid kinetics and kinetic model performance was comparable between outdoor walks and a conventional, laboratory-based exercise test. We envision that telemonitoring applications for patients with COPD could be improved by incorporating regular assessments of HR (and possibly V̇O2) kinetics, as obtained from continuous measurements with wearable devices during outdoor walks.

Resumen: La pandemia causada por la enfermedad de la COVID-19 ha supuesto un gran reto para los profesionales del sistema sociosanitario, intensificándose con el manejo y atención de las manifestaciones clínicas que potencialmente pueden presentarse de manera persistente en las personas que han superado la enfermedad. Para ello, la fisioterapia respiratoria se presenta como piedra angular dentro del modelo de abordaje interdisciplinar que requiere esta población. Dado que la implementación de esta opción terapéutica continúa siendo limitada en España, es imprescindible realizar una evaluación integral y exhaustiva de la persona que nos permita establecer criterios de selección a fin de optimizar el uso de los recursos humanos y materiales existentes. Para ello, se propone un algoritmo de decisión terapéutica basado en pruebas de evaluación validadas y objetivas de las posibles manifestaciones clínicas del paciente. La aplicación de este algoritmo, en cualquier nivel asistencial (atención especializada y atención primaria/comunitaria) junto con la atención centrada en la persona, el impulso del uso de los espacios comunitarios verdes y azules de las ciudades y un adecuado uso de las tecnologías de la comunicación y la información, nos permitirá optimizar el modelo de atención de fisioterapia respiratoria en el contexto actual, marcado por la COVID-19. Abstract: The outbreak of COVID-19 has posed a great challenge for the healthcare system which has been later aggravated by the need of managing clinical manifestations and potential sequelae in COVID-19 survivors. In this context, respiratory Physiotherapy emerges as a cornerstone in the interdisciplinary management warranted in this population. Given that the implementation and resources available for the interdisciplinary therapeutic interventions in Spain is scarce, it is essential to perform a comprehensive, exhaustive and personalised assessment. This will allow us to establish more accurate selection criteria in order to optimise the use of existing human and material resources. To this end, we propose here a decision-making algorithm for clinical practice to assess the clinical manifestations in people recovered from COVID-19 based on well-established, validated tests and assessment tools. This algorithm can be used at any clinical practice environment (primary care/community or hospital-based), combined with a patient-centered model and the use of community and e-Health resources and its application to improve the Physiotherapy care of these patients in the COVID-19 era.

Introduction and aim Pseudomonas aeruginosa could acquire a mucoid phenotype due to mutations in mucA (mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa - mPA) that is a hallmark of poor prognosis in patients with bronchiectasis. Despite the higher prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in bronchiectasis, how mPA and non-mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa (non-mPA) phenotypes could affect viscoelastic properties of sputum is unknown. Our aim was to determine the relationship between Pseudomonas aeruginosa phenotypes isolation, the viscoelastic properties of sputum and the clinical outcomes in patients with bronchiectasis. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted of sputum samples obtained by spontaneous expectoration and sent for microbiology and rheology analysis. Elasticity and viscosity were measured at two oscillatory frequencies (1 and 100 rad/s). Socio-demographic and clinical data were recorded. Results We analyzed 17 patients with mPA, 14 with non-mPA and 17 with no organism reported (NOR). Compared with the NOR group, the mPA group showed higher elasticity (median 10.30 vs. 5.70, p = 0.023), viscosity (2.40 vs. 1.50, p = 0.039), and stiffness (10.70 vs. 6.00, p = 0.024). Values in the mPA group tended to be higher compared with non-mPA. Clinically, the mPA group showed greater hospitalizations during the previous year and greater affected lobes than the non-mPA and NOR groups. Conclusions The mPA phenotype is associated with increased elasticity, viscosity and stiffness of bronchiectatic sputum. Viscoelastic properties could be used as a marker of poor mucociliary clearance in mPA, with potentially important clinical implications.

AIM We hypothesize that training-induced changes in muscle oxygen saturation (StO2 ) assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during constant work rate cycling exercise (CWRE) may be a useful marker of the effects of training at 'vastus medialis' of the quadriceps in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS Incremental exercise [peak oxygen uptake (VO2 )] and CWRE at 70% pretraining peak VO2 , before and after 8-w training, were done in 10 healthy age-matched subjects (H) [80% men, 65(11) years, FEV1 105(14)%] and 16 COPD patients [94% men, 70(5) years, FEV1 46(11) %] encompassing the entire spectrum of disease severity, recruited in the outpatient clinics. NIRS was used to assess StO2 in the 'vastus medialis' of the left quadriceps. RESULTS Pretraining CWRE decreased StO2 (P

INTRODUCTION: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) progression is variable and affects several disease domains, including decline in lung function, exercise capacity, muscle strength, and health status as well as changes in body composition. We aimed to assess the longitudinal association of physical activity (PA) with these a priori selected components of disease progression. METHODS: We studied 114 COPD patients from the PAC-COPD cohort (94% male, mean [SD], 70 yr [8 yr] of age, 54 [16] forced expiratory volume in 1 s % predicted) at baseline and 2.6 yr (0.6 yr) later. Baseline PA was assessed by accelerometry. Multivariable general linear models were built to assess the association between PA and changes in lung function, functional exercise capacity, muscle strength, health status, and body composition. All models were adjusted for confounders and the respective baseline value of each measure. RESULTS: Per each 1000 steps higher baseline PA, forced expiratory volume in 1 s declined 7 mL less (P < 0.01), forced vital capacity 9 mL less (P = 0.03) and carbon monoxide diffusing capacity 0.10 mL·min·mm Hg less (P = 0.04), while the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire symptom domain deteriorated 0.4 points less (P = 0.03), per year follow-up. Physical activity was not associated with changes in functional exercise capacity, muscle strength, other domains of health status or body composition. CONCLUSIONS: Higher PA is associated with attenuated decline in lung function and reduced health status (symptoms domain) deterioration in moderate-to-very severe COPD patients. ispartof: MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE vol:51 issue:5 pages:833-840 ispartof: location:United States status: published

BACKGROUND The cardiac autonomic function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been poorly studied. OBJECTIVES We aimed to 1) describe the cardiac autonomic function assessed by heart rate recovery (HRR) and chronotropic response (CR) during a 6-min walk test (6MWT) and afterward and 2) estimate the association of physical activity with HRR and CR in COPD patients. METHODS This cross-sectional analysis included 320 patients with mild to very severe COPD. Physical activity (steps, time in any/moderate-to-vigorous/vigorous physical activity, intensity and sedentary time) was measured during 1 week by accelerometer. CR and HRR were measured during a 6MWT and 5min after, respectively, and their association with physical activity parameters was estimated by multivariable linear regression models. RESULTS Patients were 82% male and had a mean (SD) age 68 (8) years, post-bronchodilator FEV1 57 (18) % predicted, and walked a mean of 7716 (4139) steps/day. HRR was slow until 5min after the 6MWT; the mean (SD) HRR was 15 (10), 22 (11), 25 (12), 25 (12) and 27 (12) bpm after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5min, respectively. The mean (SD) CR was 35% (16). After adjusting for relevant confounders, time in vigorous physical activity was significantly associated with a fast decrease in HRR (p=0.044) and an increase in CR (p=0.021). We found no independent association for other physical activity parameters. CONCLUSION A cardiac autonomic dysfunction is present in patients with mild to very severe COPD and is inversely related to the practice of vigorous physical activity. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01897298.

IntroductionPrehabilitation programmes that combine exercise training, nutritional support and emotional reinforcement (multimodal prehabilitation) have demonstrated efficacy reducing postoperative complications in the context of abdominal surgery. However, such programmes have seldom been studied in cardiac surgery, one of the surgeries associated with higher postoperative morbidity and mortality. This trial will assess the feasibility and efficacy in terms of reduction of postoperative complications and cost-effectiveness of a multimodal prehabilitation programme comparing to the standard of care in cardiac surgical patients.Methods and analysisThis is a single-centre, randomised, open-label, controlled trial with a 1:1 ratio. Consecutive 160 elective valve replacement and/or coronary revascularisation surgical patients will be randomised to either standard of care or 4–6 weeks of multimodal prehabilitation that will consist in (1) two times/week supervised endurance and strength exercise training sessions, (2) promotion of physical activity and healthy lifestyle, (3) respiratory physiotherapy, (4) nutrition counselling and supplementation if needed, and (5) weekly mindfulness sessions. Baseline, preoperative and 3-month postoperative data will be collected by an independent blinded evaluator. The primary outcome of this study will be the incidence of postoperative complications.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Clinical investigation of Hospital Clinic de Barcelona (HCB/2017/0708). The results will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal.Trial registration numberNCT03466606.

BackgroundThe Daily-PROactive and Clinical visit-PROactive Physical Activity (D-PPAC and C-PPAC) instruments in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) combines questionnaire with activity monitor data to measure patients’ experience of physical activity. Their amount, difficulty and total scores range from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) but require further psychometric evaluation.ObjectiveTo test reliability, validity and responsiveness, and to define minimal important difference (MID), of the D-PPAC and C-PPAC instruments, in a large population of patients with stable COPD from diverse severities, settings and countries.MethodsWe used data from seven randomised controlled trials to evaluate D-PPAC and C-PPAC internal consistency and construct validity by sex, age groups, COPD severity, country and language as well as responsiveness to interventions, ability to detect change and MID.ResultsWe included 1324 patients (mean (SD) age 66 (8) years, forced expiratory volume in 1 s 55 (17)% predicted). Scores covered almost the full range from 0 to 100, showed strong internal consistency after stratification and correlated as a priori hypothesised with dyspnoea, health-related quality of life and exercise capacity. Difficulty scores improved after pharmacological treatment and pulmonary rehabilitation, while amount scores improved after behavioural physical activity interventions. All scores were responsive to changes in self-reported physical activity experience (both worsening and improvement) and to the occurrence of COPD exacerbations during follow-up. The MID was estimated to 6 for amount and difficulty scores and 4 for total score.ConclusionsThe D-PPAC and C-PPAC instruments are reliable and valid across diverse COPD populations and responsive to pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions and changes in clinically relevant variables.

Introduction: Preoperative optimization programs are effective interventions to improve postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing major surgery. However, customization of these programs to multimorbid patients’ is an unmet need. The current study aims to identify factors associated to program completion, and to postoperative complications, in multimorbid patients undergoing major surgery. Methods: Inclusion criteria: 1) Undergoing to major surgery; 2) high-risk for surgical complications defined by age≥ 70 and/or American Society of Anesthesiologists risk scale 3-4. The program included 6 interventions: 1) Cardiorespiratory training; 2) Promotion of physical activity; 3) Volumetric inspirometer teaching; 4) Cognitive behavioural therapy; 5) Nutritional optimization; 6) Mindfulness. Program completion was defined as attending ≥80% of appointments. Results: From 200 patients, 120 (60%) completed the program. Among completers, 62 did not suffer from postoperative complications (52%). Undergoing oncologic surgery (24.5[3.9-153.8];p=0.001), suffering from endocrine and metabolic diseases (3.8[1.2-12.3];p=0.025) and willingness to participate in mindfulness sessions (3.1[1.03-9.15];p=0.044) were associated with program completion, while being older (0.93[0.88-0.97];p=0.002) was related to lower probability of completion. Among completers, higher baseline fitness (Duke Activity Status Index) (0.95[0.91-0.999];p=0.019) and higher risk of malnutrition (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool) (1.8[1.1-3.1];p=0.023) were related to postoperative morbidity. Conclusions: The current study identifies actionable factors useful to personalize these programs which may facilitate its effectiveness.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung condition that affects a person's ability to exercise and undertake normal physical function due to breathlessness, poor physical fitness, and muscle fatigue. Patients with COPD often experience exacerbations due to pulmonary infections, which result in worsening of their symptoms, more loss of function, and often require hospital treatment or in severe cases admission to intensive care units. Recovery from such exacerbations is often slow, and some patients never fully return to their previous level of activity. This can lead to permanent disability and premature death.Physical therapists play a key role in the respiratory management and rehabilitation of patients admitted to intensive care following acute exacerbation of COPD. This article discusses the key considerations for respiratory management of patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, providing an evidence-based summary of commonly used interventions. It will also explore the evidence to support the introduction of early and structured programs of rehabilitation to support recovery in both the short and the long term, as well as active mobilization, which includes strategies to minimize or prevent physical loss through early retraining of both peripheral and respiratory muscles.

Resumen El tratamiento no farmacologico es fundamental en los pacientes con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva cronica (EPOC), sin embargo, este tratamiento, en ocasiones, no recibe la importancia que merece. Los pacientes diagnosticados de EPOC deberian beneficiarse de servicios de atencion integral. Estos servicios son un conjunto articulado de acciones estandarizadas dirigidas a la cobertura de las necesidades de salud del paciente, considerando el entorno y las circunstancias. La rehabilitacion pulmonar es uno de los componentes esenciales del tratamiento no farmacologico en los servicios de atencion integral en la EPOC. En la Guia espanola de la EPOC (GesEPOC) 2017 detallamos de forma sistematica la evidencia cientifica de los programas de rehabilitacion pulmonar en fase aguda y estable. Otro aspecto importante del tratamiento no farmacologico es la actividad fisica y en la guia GesEPOC 2017 describimos los puntos mas esenciales sobre su prescripcion y revisamos las estrategias mas eficaces para su adhesion. GesEPOC 2017 quiere dejar constancia de la importancia del tratamiento no farmacologico como coadyuvante al tratamiento farmacologico.

Non-pharmacological treatment is essential in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but this treatment is sometimes not given the importance it deserves. Patients diagnosed with COPD should benefit from comprehensive care services. These services comprise a protocolized set of actions aimed at covering the health needs of the patient, taking into account their environment and circumstances. Pulmonary rehabilitation is one of the essential components of non-pharmacological treatment in comprehensive COPD care services. In the Spanish COPD Guidelines (GesEPOC) 2017, we provided a systematic report of the scientific evidence for pulmonary rehabilitation programs in acute and stable phase disease. Another important issue in the non-pharmacological treatment of COPD is physical activity, and the most essential considerations regarding prescription are described in the GesEPOC guidelines, along with a review of the most effective strategies to ensure adherence. GesEPOC 2017 aims to underline the importance of non-pharmacological treatment as a co-adjuvant to pharmacological treatment.

Purpose Frailty and poor functional performance are associated with worse outcomes after heart transplantation (HT). Prehabilitation performed to improve patients preoperatively has been shown to improve surgery outcomes in other high-risk patients, but there is no experience in patients prior to HT. We postulate that a combined prehabilitation program in patients on the waiting list for HT may improve short-term outcomes after HT, reduce hospitalization days and be cost-effective. Methods All patients entering the waiting list from July 2017 to July 2020 were offered to join an 8 weeks prehabilitation program consisting in 2 hours/week personalized moderate-high-intensity exercise training, nutritional optimization and mindfulness sessions. Patients completing a minimum of 12 sessions (6 weeks) were included as Prehab-Group (Prehab-G). Patients who decline to participate or underwent HT before starting the program were included as controls (Contr-G). Urgent HT and multiorgan transplants were excluded. Primary endpoints were total length of stay (LOS) and cost of HT hospitalization. Secondary endpoints were hours of mechanical ventilation, intensive care LOS and 30 days re-hospitalization. Results We enrolled 49 patients, from them 28 pat. entered the program. 18 patients in the Prehab-G and 17 patients in the Contr-G reached transplantation. There were no adverse events during the exercise sessions. Baseline characteristics show no differences between groups except for higher ratio of males (89% vs 47%, p=0.01) and longer median time on waiting list for the Prehab-G (242±228 vs 92±56 days, p Conclusion A prehabilitation program for patients awaiting HT is feasible and safe. Patients completing at least 6 weeks of training had shorter LOS and lower total and direct cost for the HT admission compared to patients without prehabilitation.

Introduction\ud \ud Abnormalities of autonomic function have been reported in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our objectives were to identify determinants of abnormal heart rate recovery at 1 min (HRR1) following completion of the 6-min walk test (6MWT) in COPD and to establish whether abnormal HRR1 predicts acute exacerbations (AECOPD).\ud \ud Methods\ud \ud Hundred one COPD patients (FEV1 (SD) 53 (19) % predicted) were prospectively recruited in a multi-center study. HRR1 after the 6MWT was evaluated as the difference between heart rate at the end of the test and 1 min into the recovery (HRR1). Linear and logistic regression was used to identify predictors of HRR1 and AECOPD, respectively. The best HRR1 cut-off point to predict AECOPD was selected using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. The follow-up period was 12 months.\ud \ud Results\ud \ud Distance covered during the 6MWT (m) and DLco (% predicted) were independently associated with HRR1 (r2 = 0.51, p = 0.001). Among several potential covariates, HRR1 emerged as the most significant predictor of AECOPD (Odds ratio [OR], 0.91 per beat of recovery; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85–0.97; p = 0.02). The ROC analysis indicated that subjects with HRR1 less than 14 beats (AUC, 0.71 [CI] 0.60–0.80; p = 0.0001) were more likely to suffer an exacerbation during the follow-up period (for HRR1, p = 0.004 [log-rank test]).\ud \ud Conclusions\ud \ud HRR1 after the 6MWT is an independent predictor factor for AECOPD. Further studies are warranted to examine the physiological mechanisms associating a delayed HRR and acute exacerbations in COPD patients.

Knowledge on the environmental determinants of physical activity in COPD is scarce and no information on the specific role of air pollution is available. We aimed to explore the association between air pollution and physical activity in COPD patients, hypothesizing that higher levels of air pollution may negatively impact on physical activity. This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline pre-randomisation data from the multi-centre Urban Training study (NCT01897298) in Catalonia. We estimated annual residential averages of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10 and PM2.5absorbance) using land-use regression models. We assessed physical activity (daily step count and sedentary time) using the Dynaport MoveMonitor, and physical activity experience using the C-PPAC difficulty score. We built mixed-effect linear regression models for each outcome and exposure, adjusting for confounders with a random intercept for the city area. We included 407 patients (mean (SD) 69 (8) y, 85% male, FEV1 57% pred); median (p25-p75) levels of air pollutants were at the WHO health limits (NO2 43.5 µg/m3 [35.0-48.7]; PM2.5 12.6 µg/m3 [10.7-13.8]; PM10 24.9 µg/m3 [22.3-27.7]). Multi-variable analysis showed an association between NO2 and sedentary time (Coef=0.23 [95% CI 0.03, 0.43] per IQR change, p=0.027) and C-PPAC difficulty (-2.57 [-5.12, -0.02] per IQR change, p=0.048). No other significant associations were observed. In COPD patients, higher NO2 levels of residential areas are associated with increased sedentary times and the experience of increased difficulty during physical activity. This likely contributes to the negative effects of air pollution in COPD patients and requires further investigation.

[No abstract available]

BackgroundPatients with bronchiectasis have a less active lifestyle than healthy peers, but the association with hospital admission has not been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between 1) any physical activity variable; and 2) sedentary time, with hospitalisation due to exacerbation in adults with bronchiectasis.MethodsIn this prospective observational study, baseline lung function, quality of life, exercise tolerance, severity of bronchiectasis and physical activity were recorded. Physical activity was objectively assessed over a week using a SenseWear armband and the results were expressed in steps·day–1 and sedentary time. Number of hospitalisations due to a bronchiectasis exacerbation and time to first event were recorded after 1-year follow-up.ResultsSixty-four patients with bronchiectasis were analysed, of whom 15 (23%) were hospitalised during the follow-up. Hospitalised patients showed poor baseline clinical and severity outcomes, fewer steps walked per day and more sedentary behaviour than the non-hospitalised group. Patients who walked ≤6290 steps·day–1 or spent ≥7.8 h·day–1 in sedentary behaviour had an increased risk of hospital admission due to bronchiectasis exacerbation at 1-year follow-up. Specifically, ≥7.8 h·day–1 of sedentary behaviour was associated with a 5.9-fold higher risk of hospital admission in the following year.ConclusionsLow levels of physical activity and high sedentary time at baseline were associated with a higher risk of hospitalisation due to bronchiectasis exacerbation. If these findings are validated in future studies, it might be appropriate to include physical activity and sedentary behaviour as an item in severity scores.