PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Carlos Augusto Camillo AU - Chris Burtin AU - Daniel Langer AU - Vinicius Cavalheri AU - Nidia Aparecida Hernandes AU - Ercy Mara Cipulo Ramos AU - Vanessa Probst AU - Fabio Pitta AU - Rik Gosselink AU - Thierry Troosters TI - Pulmonary rehabilitation: Are the effects similar in populations from different countries? DP - 2011 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - p1273 VI - 38 IP - Suppl 55 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p1273.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p1273.full SO - Eur Respir J2011 Sep 01; 38 AB - Background: There are no studies investigating whether differences in socioeconomic, ethnic or climate characteristics could interfere with outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programs.Objective: To compare the training effects of similar exercise training programs applied to two groups of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) living in different world regions: one from Western Europe (Belgium) and another from South America (Brazil).Methods: 564 patients with moderate to severe COPD (45 in Brazil and 519 in Belgium) underwent similar high-intensity outpatient PR programs. Baseline values and their respective post-training changes of pulmonary function, exercise capacity, physical activities in daily life, respiratory muscle force, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and functional status were compared between centers.Results: Patients were matched for age, BMI and FEV1. Baseline differences were found in the 6-minute walking test (67±12%pred in Brazil vs 57±20%pred in Belgium; p<0,01), expiratory muscle force (96±28cmH2O in Brazil vs 143±48cmH2O in Belgium; p<0,01) and functional status (all domains had better scores in Brazil in the Modified Pulmonary Functional Status and Dyspnea questionnaire; p<0,01). After 3 months of training, only the dyspnea domain of the Chronic Respiratory Disease questionnaire showed significant difference between centers (0,50 [-2 – 5] in Brazil vs 5 [2 – 8] in Belgium; p<0,01).Conclusions: Similar PR programs applied in populations from different countries yield similar improvements in exercise capacity, respiratory muscle function, functional status and most HRQoL outcomes. Dyspnea was more enhanced in Belgian patients.