Author: Polkey MI1, Qiu ZH2, Zhou L2, Zhu MD2, Wu YX2, Chen YY2, Ye SP3, He YS3, Jiang M2, He BT2, Mehta B1, Zhong NS2, Luo YM4
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit at the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College, London, UK.
<sup>2</sup>State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
<sup>3</sup>Xing-Ning People's Hospital, Meizhou, Guangdong, China.
<sup>4</sup>State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: y.m.luo@vip.163.com.
Conference/Journal: Chest.
Date published: 2018 Mar 28
Other:
Pages: S0012-3692(18)30313-1 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.01.053. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 256
BACKGROUND: In COPD, functional status is improved by pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) but requires specific facilities. Tai Chi, which combines psychological treatment and physical exercise and requires no special equipment, is widely practiced in China and is becoming increasingly popular in the rest of the world. We hypothesized that Tai Chi is equivalent (ie, difference less than ±4 St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire [SGRQ] points) to PR.
METHODS: A total of 120 patients (mean FEV1, 1.11 ± 0.42 L; 43.6% predicted) bronchodilator-naive patients were studied. Two weeks after starting indacaterol 150 μg once daily, they randomly received either standard PR thrice weekly or group Tai Chi five times weekly, for 12 weeks. The primary end point was change in SGRQ prior to and following the exercise intervention; measurements were also made 12 weeks after the end of the intervention.
RESULTS: The between-group difference for SGRQ at the end of the exercise interventions was -0.48 (95% CI PR vs Tai Chi, -3.6 to 2.6; P = .76), excluding a difference exceeding the minimal clinically important difference. Twelve weeks later, the between-group difference for SGRQ was 4.5 (95% CI, 1.9 to 7.0; P < .001), favoring Tai Chi. Similar trends were observed for 6-min walk distance; no change in FEV1 was observed.
CONCLUSIONS: Tai Chi is equivalent to PR for improving SGRQ in COPD. Twelve weeks after exercise cessation, a clinically significant difference in SGRQ emerged favoring Tai Chi. Tai Chi is an appropriate substitute for PR.
TRIAL REGISTRY: ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT02665130; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS: COPD; Tai Chi; indacaterol; pulmonary rehabilitation
PMID: 29625777 DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.01.053