SynthesisPhysical therapy2023
Pulmonary Rehabilitation Using Minimal Equipment for People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Physical therapy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Barriers and enablers to centre-based pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- A 7-point evidence-based care discharge protocol for patients hospitalized for exacerbation of COPD: consensus strategy and expert recommendation.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Minimal vs Specialized Exercise Equipment for Pulmonary Rehabilitation: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Changes in knowledge, skills, and confidence following a training program for primary care physiotherapists and exercise physiologists in pulmonary rehabilitation: a pre-post study.Primary health care research & development · 2026Article
- Nomogram integrating inflammatory biomarkers predicts chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation Post-Rehabilitation.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Article
- Low-cost pulmonary rehabilitation for chronic respiratory diseases: a narrative review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Review
- Contextualising COPD self-management in Malaysia: insights from a qualitative photo-elicitation study of patients-caregiver dyads.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Safety and Feasibility of a Two-Way Audiovisual Teleconferenced Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program.CHEST pulmonary · 2025Article
- Pulmonary rehabilitation improves lung function and exercise tolerance in elderly non-surgical NSCLC patients.American journal of cancer research · 2025Article
- The effects of adding a six-month Pilates exercise program to three months of traditional community-based pulmonary rehabilitation in individuals with COPD: a prospective cohort study.Canadian journal of respiratory therapy : CJRT = Revue canadienne de la therapie respiratoire : RCTR · 2024Article
- Efficacy of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Post-COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Systematic review (protocol) of clinical effectiveness and models of care of low-resource pulmonary rehabilitation.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2019Article
- ASSOBRAFIR clinical practice guidelines in respiratory physical therapy: Exercise-based interventions in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Brazilian journal of physical therapyReview
- Exercise intensity during a minimal equipment circuit session in adults with chronic respiratory disease.Chronic respiratory diseaseArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePulmonary rehabilitation programs that use minimal equipment for exercise training, rather than gymnasium equipment, would enable delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation to a greater number of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The effectiveness of minimal equipment programs in people with COPD is unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation using minimal equipment for aerobic and/or resistance training in people with COPD.
methodsLiterature databases were searched up to September 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effect of minimal equipment programs with usual care or with exercise equipment-based programs for exercise capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and strength.
resultsNineteen RCTs were included in the review and 14 RCTs were included in the meta-analyses, which reported low to moderate certainty of evidence. Compared with usual care, minimal equipment programs increased 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) by 85 m (95% CI = 37 to 132 m). No difference in 6MWD was observed between minimal equipment and exercise equipment-based programs (14 m, 95% CI = -27 to 56 m). Minimal equipment programs were more effective than usual care for improving HRQoL (standardized mean difference = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.31 to 1.67) and were not different from exercise equipment-based programs for improving upper limb strength (6 N, 95% CI = -2 to 13 N) or lower limb strength (20 N, 95% CI = -30 to 71 N).
conclusionIn people with COPD, pulmonary rehabilitation programs using minimal equipment elicit clinically significant improvements in 6MWD and HRQoL and are comparable with exercise equipment-based programs for improving 6MWD and strength. IMPACT: Pulmonary rehabilitation programs using minimal equipment may be a suitable alternative in settings where access to gymnasium equipment is limited. Delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation programs using minimal equipment may improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation worldwide, particularly in rural and remote areas and in developing countries.
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Registered trials
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