The effects of reducing the frequency of long-term physiotherapy on patients with severe COPD: a Dutch multicenter study

Abstract Purpose To investigate if a reduction in the frequency of long term physiotherapy leads to an increase of exacerbations, prescriptions of medication and hospital admissions in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Intervention 296 adults with severe COPD (GOLD III & IV) followed a weekly physiotherapy program with a focus on endurance capacity, muscle function and education. In this study, participants were divided into two groups: a High-Frequency Group (HFG) and a Low Frequency Group (LFG). Results The HFG had consistent lower rates of exacerbations (LFG x̄ 4.14; HFG x̄ 2.71), prescriptions antibiotics LFG x̄ 28.63; HFG x̄ 12.64), number of hospital admissions (LFG x̄ 1.22; HFG x̄ 0.36) and days in hospital (LFG x̄ 8.85; HFG x̄ 1.36) compared to LFG. Differences between both groups (Independent samples T-test, p < 0.05) were significant for exacerbations (p = 0.001), antibiotic prescriptions (p = 0.009), hospital admissions (p = 0.000) and days in hospital (p = 0.000). Conclusion Reducing the frequency of long-term physiotherapy leads to significantly higher rates of exacerbations, medication use, hospital admissions and days in hospital in patients with severe COPD.