Effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the FIRST study

Description

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes an impairment of respiratory function, well reflected by the progressive decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). The only interventions able to slow down the FEV1 decline are smoking cessation and drug treatment. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), is claimed to improve exercise tolerance, symptoms and quality of life, but its effects on lung function have been scantly investigated.

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