Dyspnoea is a disabling symptom in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) that significantly decreased quality of life (QoL).

Aim is to evaluate the role of high intensity pulmonary  rehabilitation (H-PR) in hospitalized patients  versus 3 times week  supervised  programme  based  (S-PR) in patients with SSc  and pulmonary fibrosis. The H-PR  program included stretching, peripheral muscle strength training , alternating  walking with  cycling  for 60 minutes in the morning and 60 minutes in the afternoon, for 6 times a week for 3 weeks. The S-PR program included similar sessions for an hour a day for 3 days a week for 4 weeks. 

 We recruited 65 consecutive  subjects, 32 were submitted to H-PR.   All subjects  performed pulmonary function tests, blood-gas analysis, 6MWT, dyspnoea rating  and health-related quality of life questionnaire (SGRQ) on admission and discharge.

 A significant improvement was observed in dyspnoea  (P=0.008) in the H-PR group.

The H-PR gain a  8.3 point reduction in their SGRQ score versus S-PR (P < 0.0001).

 Current study suggest that H-PR intervention improves QoL in SSc.