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Efficacy of a cell phone-based exercise programme for COPD

¹ Dept of Thoracic Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Depts of ² Medicine, and ³ Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, and ⁴ IT and Visualization Division, National Center for High-Performance Computing, Hsinchu, Taiwan. ⁵ National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.

CORRESPONDENCE: H-P. Kuo, Dept of Thoracic Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 199 Tun Hwa N. Rd, Taipei, Taiwan. Fax: 886 33272474. E-mail: q8828{at}ms11.hinet.net

Keywords: Cell phone, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary rehabilitation, shuttle walking tests

Received: August 10, 2007
Accepted May 6, 2008

The application of a supervised endurance exercise training programme in a home setting offering convenience and prolonged effects is a challenge.

In total, 48 patients were initially assessed by the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT), spirometry and the Short Form-12 (SF-12) quality-of-life questionnaire, and then every 4 weeks for 3 months thereafter and again after 1 yr. During the first 3 months, 24 patients in the cell phone group were asked to perform daily endurance walking at 80% of their maximal capacity by following the tempo of music from a program installed on a cell phone. The level of endurance walking at home was readjusted monthly according to the result of ISWT. In the control group, 24 patients received the same protocol and were verbally asked to take daily walking exercise at home.

Patients in the cell phone group significantly improved their ISWT distance and duration of endurance walking after 8 weeks. The improvements in ISWT distance, inspiratory capacity and SF-12 scoring at 12 weeks persisted until the end of the study, with less acute exacerbations and hospitalisations.

In the present pilot study, the cell phone-based system provides an efficient, home endurance exercise training programme with good compliance and clinical outcomes in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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