Trial reportDeutsches Arzteblatt international2021
In-Patient Pulmonary Rehabilitation to Improve Asthma Control–A Randomized Controlled Study (EPRA, Effectiveness of Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients with Asthma).
Trial report in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparative efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation delivery models on dyspnoea, exercise capacity and health-related quality of life in chronic respiratory disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Pulmonary rehabilitation versus usual care for adults with asthma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- The comparative efficacy of comprehensive self-care interventions in chronic illness: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Review
- Creating home-based pulmonary rehabilitation programs for patients with asthma: insights from practice.Journal of Yeungnam medical science · 2025Article
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation Reduces Airway Inflammation in Asthma Patients with High FeJournal of asthma and allergy · 2025Article
- The role of pulmonary rehabilitation in severe asthma: a comprehensive review.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Severe Asthma Outcomes: A Pre-Post Study.Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2024Article
- Randomized controlled trials as a source of evidence in rehabilitation: a critical analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2024Article
- The Short-Term Efficacy of a Three-Week Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program among Patients with Obstructive Lung Diseases.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Can an educational intervention in the context of inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation improve asthma self-management at work? A study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Article
- A comprehensive diagnostic service to clarify intervention needs when work participation is at risk: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (GIBI, DRKS00027577).BMC health services research · 2022Article
- The Decline in Medical Rehabilitation for Children and Adolescents in Germany in the First Year of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2022Article
- Research Trends on Pulmonary Rehabilitation: A Bibliometric Analysis From 2011 to 2020.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Review
- [Overview on pulmonary rehabilitation].Der Pneumologe · 2022Review
- Effectiveness of a Three-Week Inpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program for Patients after COVID-19: A Prospective Observational Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Observational
- Pulmonary rehabilitation in long COVID: more than just natural recovery!?ERJ open research · 2021Article
- [Rehabilitation in pneumology].Der Pneumologe · 2021Article
- Impact of pulmonary rehabilitation on patients' health care needs and asthma control: a quasi-experimental study.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the availability of effective pharmaceutical treatment options, many patients with asthma do not manage to control their illness. This randomized trial with a waiting-list control group examined whether a 3-week course of inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) improves asthma control (primary endpoint) and other secondary endpoints (e.g., quality of life, cardinal symptoms, mental stress). The subsequent observational segment of the study investigated the long-term outcome after PR.
methodsAfter approval of the rehabilitation´ by the insurance providers (T0), 412 adults with uncontrolled asthma (Asthma Control Test [ACT] score < 20 points) undergoing rehabilitation were assigned to either the intervention group (IG) or the waiting-list control group (CG). PR commenced 1 month (T1) after randomization in the IG and 5 months after randomization (T3) in the CG. Asthma control and the secondary endpoints were assessed 3 months after PR in the IG (T3) as an intention-to-treat analysis by means of analyses of covariance. Moreover, both groups were observed for a period of 12 months after the end of PR.
resultsAt T3 the mean ACT score was 15.76 points in the CG, 20.38 points in the IG. The adjusted mean difference of 4.71 points was clinically relevant (95% confidence interval [3.99; 5.43]; effect size, Cohen's d = 1.27). The secondary endpoints also showed clinically relevant effects in favor of the IG. A year after the end of rehabilitation the mean ACT score was 19.00 points, still clinically relevant at 3.54 points higher than when rehabilitation began. Secondary endpoints such as quality of life and cardinal symptoms (dyspnea, cough, expectoration, pain) and self-management showed moderate to large effects.
conclusionThe trial showed that a 3-week course of PR leads to clinically relevant improvement in asthma control and secondary endpoints. Patients who do not achieve control of their asthma despite outpatient treatment therefore benefit from rehabilitation.
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