Abstract

Background: Uptake to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is poor post-acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). A number of studies made attempts to design interventions to promote uptake of conventional PR post-AECOPD. However, these attempts have not been reviewed systematically. Objective: Review the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve PR uptake Post AECOPD. Methods: The search date was between 1946 to April 2022. The databases searched were; CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, AMED. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria were included. Data were extracted by two reviewers. A narrative synthesis was used to interpret the findings. Result: Four studies were included (figure 1). Interventions used within studies were: COPD discharge bundle supplemented with patient co-designed video, a COPD discharge bundle delivered by a clinician involved in PR, a web-based manual and early versus delayed PR. Two of the included studies were RCTs and the rest were non-randomized studies. Two studies reported statistical significance, with one resulted in a significant positive impact favouring the intervention group. Conclusion: Heterogeneity, insufficient and poor quality of evidence hindered our ability to make firm conclusions about the effectiveness. Further research is needed to add to this evidence.