Daoyin rehab improves 6MWD in IPF patients

A clinically meaningful difference has been noted in 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) among patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) who received pulmonary Daoyin (PD) as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) rehabilitation programme, reports a study.

“The PD programme is safe and effective as a rehabilitation intervention designed to increase exercise tolerance and is an appropriate substitute for pulmonary rehabilitation (PR),” the authors said.

Ninety-six patients with IPF participated in a 6-month randomized controlled trial in three Chinese clinics and were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: the PD group received a PD programme two times a day, 5 days/week for 2 months; the exercise group trained via a stationary cycle ergometer, 30 min/day, 5 days/week for 2 months; and the control group. Participants in the control group were advised to maintain their usual activities.

Primary outcomes were changes from baseline in the 6MWD and health-related quality of life score on the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire for IPF (SGRQ-I) at 1 and 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and at 6 months (4 months after the intervention). Secondary outcomes included forced vital capacity (FVC), diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO; % predicted), and the changes in the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale.

Patients in the PD group had higher 6MWD than those in the exercise and control groups. The 6MWD increased by 60.44 m in the PD group, 32.16 m in the exercise group, and 12.42 m in the control group after 2 months of rehabilitation programme.

The differences in the change from baseline between groups were 28.78 m (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.54–56.01; p=0.044) and 48.02 m (95 percent CI, 23.04–73.00; p<0.001) at 2 months, and 25.61 m (95 percent CI, –0.67 to 51.89; p=0.058) and 50.93 m (95 percent CI, 25.47 to 76.40; p<0.001) at 6 months, respectively. In addition, the change exceeded the minimal clinically important difference.

On the other hand, no significant change was observed in the SGRQ-I score, the mMRC dyspnoea score, FVC, and DLCO in either the PD or exercise groups.

“IPF is a chronic progressive lung disease in which PR provides benefit for patients,” the authors said. “PD, a TCM PR programme, has known effectiveness in COPD.”