Coordinator of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Work Commission of the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology (SPP), pneumologist at ULS of Leiria Region and member of ciTechCare, Bruno Cabrita explains the impact of Pulmonary Rehabilitation on quality of life, exercise tolerance and reduction of mortality in respiratory patients, to mark the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Day, celebrated on april 21.

It is a non-pharmacological treatment, composed of education and physical exercise training, however, it is estimated that less than 1% have effective access to this intervention, either by “poor referencing by health professionals, lack of human resources, lack of knowledge or difficulty in accessing healthcare facilities”.

Pulmonary rehabilitation has been increasingly recommended, especially for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), where the improvement of symptoms and quality of life is well documented. In fact, “in these patients the evidence is so clear that it is no longer considered ethical to carry out more studies with control groups in which pulmonary rehabilitation is not offered,” reveals the pneumologist.

His vision was noticed at Correio da Manhã Journal and in this article: https://www.atlasdasaude.pt/noticias/quase-todos-os-doentes-respiratorios-beneficiam-de-rehabilitacao-respiratoria