Special considerations in conditions other than COPD

The potential benefits of PR are well known, and PR has become an integral part of chronic respiratory disease management. Due to substantial evidence of the positive effects on health outcomes, PR programmes for people with COPD have been widely implemented. People with chronic lung diseases other than COPD have, over the years, been able to enrol in such programmes. However, it has become clear that, although there are many similarities for the rationale and delivery of PR between people with COPD and those with chronic lung diseases other than COPD, there are also differences that should be considered. The current chapter describes the clinical considerations for implementation of PR in people with ILD, asthma, bronchiectasis, pulmonary arterial hypertension and lung cancer. An overview of each disease is provided, and aspects of PR including patient selection and assessment, the setting of the exercise training component of a PR programme, prescription of the exercise training programme and nonexercise components, as well as maintenance or follow-up, are discussed for these patient populations. Given the unique features of each population with chronic lung disease described in this chapter, PR programmes should be adapted to better accommodate people with chronic lung diseases other than COPD.