Pulmonary rehabilitation improves outcomes in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), however it is unclear whether these effects are long lasting and which patients benefit most.

Patients with ILD were recruited into this prospective cohort study from three pulmonary rehabilitation programs. Patients completed functional assessments (6-minute walk distance (6MWD), and 4-meter walk time) and surveys (quality of life, dyspnea, depression, and physical activity) before rehabilitation, after rehabilitation, and at six months. Changes from baseline were compared using a paired t-test. Independent predictors of change in 6MWD and quality of life were determined using multivariate analysis.

Fifty-four patients were recruited (22 with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis), 50 patients (93%) completed the rehabilitation program, and 39 returned for six-month follow-up. 6MWD improved 57.6 m immediately after rehabilitation (95% confidence interval (CI) 40.2–75.1 m, p < 0.0005), and remained 49.8 m above baseline at six months (95%CI 15.0–84.6 m, p = 0.005). The majority of patients achieved the minimum clinically important difference for quality of life (51%), dyspnea (65%), and depression score (52%) immediately after rehabilitation, and improvements were still significant at 6-month follow-up for quality of life, depression, and physical activity. A low baseline 6MWD was the only independent predictor of improvement in 6MWD during rehabilitation (r = −0.49, p < 0.0005). Change in 6MWD was an independent predictor of change in quality of life (r = −0.36, p = 0.01).

Pulmonary rehabilitation improved multiple short- and long-term outcomes in patients with ILD. While all patients appear to benefit, ILD patients with a low baseline 6MWD had greater benefit from rehabilitation.

NCT01055730 (clinicaltrials.gov).