To systematically review reports dealing with the efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The PubMed, EMbase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP and Wan Fang databases were searched to collect reports of randomized and controlled trials of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The search covered from each database′s inception to August 1, 2016. Two reviewers screened the literature independently, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias for the studies eventually included. A meta-analysis was performed using version 5.3 of the RevMan software.

After the initial selection, a total of 7 reports covering 486 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the average mMRC score, the 6-minute walk distance and Borg score in the pulmonary rehabilitation group were all significantly higher than in the control group. There was, however, no significant difference between the two groups′ average pulmonary function values.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is safe for patients experiencing an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It can effectively improve their exercise tolerance, expiratory dyspnea and daily living ability.

Pulmonary disease; Pulmonary obstruction; Pulmonary rehabilitation; Dyspnea