Trajectory of Abdominal Skeletal Muscle Changes During Cardiac Rehabilitation in Patients With Aortic Disease.

OBJECTIVE: This study focused on routine computed tomography imaging for aortic disease management and evaluated the trajectory of skeletal muscle changes through inpatient and outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. DESIGN: Prospective observational study included patients who underwent abdominal computed tomography three times (baseline, postacute care, and follow-up). The area and density of the all-abdominal and erector spine muscles and intramuscular adipose tissue were measured. A generalized linear model with patients as random effects was used to investigate skeletal muscle changes. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients completed outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, and 60 were incomplete. Skeletal muscle area significantly decreased from baseline to the follow-up period only in the incomplete rehabilitation group. Skeletal muscle density significantly decreased from baseline to postacute care and increased at the follow-up period, but only patients who completed rehabilitation showed recovery up to baseline at the follow-up period. These trajectories were more pronounced in the erector spine muscle. Intramuscular adipose tissue showed a trend of gradual increase, but only the incomplete rehabilitation group showed a significant difference from baseline to the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: The density of skeletal muscle may reflect the most common clinical course; skeletal muscle area and intramuscular adipose tissue are unlikely to improve positively, and their maintenance seemed optimal.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients After COPD Exacerbation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to clarify the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients after exacerbations of COPD and to explore the initiation timing of pulmonary rehabilitation. METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to assess the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in subjects with exacerbations of COPD on mortality and readmission compared with usual care. We searched for studies published up to October 2020 in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and other sources. Risk of bias was assessed for the randomization process, deviations from intended interventions, missing outcome data, outcome measurements, and selection of the reported result using the Risk of Bias 2 tool. We pooled mortality and readmission data and performed comparisons between pulmonary rehabilitation and usual care. The subgroup analysis compared pulmonary rehabilitation at different start times (early: ≤ 1 week from admission; and late: > 1 week from admission). RESULTS: We identified 10 randomized trials (1,056 participants). Our meta-analysis showed a clinically relevant reduction in readmission up to 3-6 months after pulmonary rehabilitation in both early group (4 trials, 190 subjects; risk ratio [RR] 0.58, [95% CI 0.34-0.99]) and late group (3 trials, 281 subjects; RR 0.48, [95% CI 0.32-0.71]). However, pulmonary rehabilitation had no significant effect on mortality 1 y later compared with usual care (4 trials, 765 subjects; RR 1.27, [95% CI 0.91-1.79]). CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary rehabilitation showed short-term effects for subjects with exacerbations of COPD even if initiated within 1 week; however, further study is required to determine its long-term effects.

Hemodynamic Changes During Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Mobility Therapy for an Advanced Heart Failure Patient with Impella 5.0 Device.

The Impella 5.0 is a catheter-mounted left ventricular assist device that is inserted through the patient's subclavian artery. This device allows patient mobilization. Early mobility improves outcomes, including physical function and exercise tolerance, in critically ill patients and those with heart failure (HF). However, there have been no studies regarding the safety of early mobilization during the period of Impella 5.0 insertion based on hemodynamic assessment.A 39-year-old man with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and cardiogenic shock was transferred to our hospital for Impella 5.0 insertion. We started neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and mobilization eight days after Impella 5.0 insertion. The safety of NMES and mobilization was assessed based on mean blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and mean pulmonary artery pressure measurements as hemodynamic indicators. Muscle strength was also assessed using the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. Throughout the interventions, only the HR increased slightly during mobilization, and there were no hemodynamic abnormalities. Also, the MRC scale score improved as mobilization progressed. The results presented here suggest that NMES and mobilization are safe and feasible in patients with Impella 5.0 insertion, and therefore should be widely adopted.