Hospital therapy improves exercise tolerance and lung function in cystic fibrosis
F. J. Cerny, G. J. Cropp and M. R. Bye
We studied the benefits of in-hospital therapy on exercise capacity and
related these changes to improvements in lung function in 17 patients with
cystic fibrosis (CF) of moderate to extreme severity, as defined by results
of pulmonary function tests performed at admission and discharge. Tolerance
and adaptations to exercise were assessed from measures of peak work
capacity (PWC), peak heart rate (PHR), and peak ventilation (PVE) obtained
during an incremental exercise test. Treatment lasted from nine to 18 days.
All measures of lung function improved; there also were significant
increases in PWC, PHR, PVE, and PHR/PWC. Exercise-induced arterial
desaturation was less at discharge than at admission. The PWC of the most
severely affected patients remained abnormally low, and their adaptations
to exercise were abnormal at discharge. We concluded that intensive
in-hospital therapy will significantly improve exercise tolerance and lung
function in patients with CF with moderate to severe pulmonary dysfunction.
