Written disclosure therapy for patients with chronic lung disease undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: Chronic lung diseases are typically associated with impaired quality of life, stress, and anxiety. Written disclosure therapy (WDT) reduces stress in patients with a variety of chronic illnesses. We sought to determine whether WDT benefits patients with chronic lung disease. METHODS: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was performed to evaluate the effect of using WDT in patients (N = 66) participating in a pulmonary rehabilitation program. Patients were randomly assigned to write about a particularly traumatic life event (WDT group) or to write about an emotionally neutral subject (control group). Exercise capacity, dyspnea and quality of life, and values of spirometry were recorded at baseline, at the end of the program, and at 6 months. RESULTS: The 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) significantly improved in both groups at 2 months, from 278 to 327 m in WDT and from 269 to 314 m in control groups (P < .01 in both groups). There was no difference in improvement in 6MWD between groups (P = .88). At 6 months, the gains made in 6MWD were no longer present. Dyspnea severity, as well as most of the other domains of the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire, showed improvement within each group, but not between WDT and control groups. CONCLUSION: WDT did not add any additional benefit in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis when included as a component of pulmonary rehabilitation. These results are in contrast to previously seen benefits in patients with asthma.

The effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on healthcare utilization in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: The Northeast Pulmonary Rehabilitation Consortium.

Although pulmonary rehabilitation results in improvement in multiple outcome areas, relatively few studies in the United States have evaluated its effect on healthcare utilization. This study compared aspects of healthcare utilization during the year before to the year after outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease referred to 11 hospital-based centers in Connecticut and New York. Utilization data from 128 of 132 patients who originally gave informed consent were evaluated; their mean age was 69 years and their forced expiratory volume in 1 second was 44% of predicted. Forty-five percent had 1 or more hospitalizations in the year before beginning pulmonary rehabilitation. In the year after pulmonary rehabilitation, there were 0.25 fewer total hospitalizations (P = .017) and 2.18 fewer hospital days (P = .015) per patient and 271 fewer hospital days for the group. Hospitalizations for respiratory reasons also decreased significantly. Most of the reduction in hospital utilization was due to a decrease in intensive care unit days. The number of physician visits decreased by 2.4 in the year after pulmonary rehabilitation (P < .0001); most of this reduction was due to decreased visits to primary care providers. The estimated costs/charges for the aspects of healthcare utilization that we studied decreased by a mean of 4,694 dollars and a median of 390 dollars (P = .0002). This study suggests that pulmonary rehabilitation leads to a reduction in healthcare utilization.