Effect of Care Protocol on the Knowledge, Practice and Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a debilitating and progressive disease that primarily affects the respiratory system. In many patients, it also has detrimental extra-pulmonary effects, such as weight loss and skeletal muscle dysfunction/wasting. The pulmonary and skeletal muscle abnormalities limit the pulmonary ventilation and enhance the ventilatory requirements during exercise resulting in exercise-associated symptoms such as dyspnea and fatigue. These symptoms make exercise an unpleasant experience, which many patients try to avoid, and along with a depressive mood status (in up to 30% of patients), further accelerates the process, leading to an inactive life-style. Muscle deconditioning, associated with reduced physical activity, contributes to further inactivity and as a result patients get trapped in a vicious cycle of declining physical activity levels and increasing symptoms with exercise (Trooster et al., 2013).

Patient education is a major component of pulmonary rehabilitation and includes a variety of topics. Depending on the length and setting of the educational program, topics may include anatomy and physiology of the lung, pathophysiology and changes with COPD, medications and home oxygen therapy, nutrition, respiratory therapy treatments, symptoms alleviation, smoking cessation, sexuality and COPD, coping with chronic disease, communicating with the health