Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program in Patients With Post-Tuberculosis Lung Disease

Official title

Immediate and Three-Month Effects of a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program in Patients With Post-Tuberculosis Lung Disease: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Overview

Post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD) refers to persistent respiratory symptoms, functional limitation, and/or structural or physiological abnormalities after completion of anti-tuberculosis treatment. These consequences can reduce exercise capacity and quality of life. This randomized controlled study will evaluate whether an individualized pulmonary rehabilitation program provides greater and more sustained improvement than standard care in adults with PTLD. Participants will be allocated in a 1:1 ratio to an 8-week supervised pulmonary rehabilitation program plus standard care or to standard care alone. Assessments will be performed at baseline (T0), immediately after the 8-week program (T1), and 3 months after program completion (T2; Week 20). The primary outcome will be the change in St George's Respiratory Questionnaire total score from baseline to Week 20. Secondary outcomes will include exercise capacity, mobility, dyspnea, perceived exertion, additional quality-of-life measures, blood-cell-derived inflammatory indices, adherence, and adverse events.

Detailed description

Persistent impairment after successfully treated pulmonary tuberculosis is increasingly recognized as an important source of chronic respiratory morbidity. Patients may experience dyspnea, exercise intolerance, fatigue, impaired mobility, and reduced health-related quality of life. Preliminary retrospective data from 37 patients suggested that structured pulmonary rehabilitation may improve the 6-minute walk distance, Timed Up and Go performance, dyspnea, perceived exertion, quality of life, and selected inflammatory indices. However, retrospective allocation and the absence of a longer follow-up limit causal interpretation.

The present study is designed as a prospective, assessor-blinded, parallel-group randomized controlled trial. It will assess both the immediate response to an individualized rehabilitation program and the maintenance of benefit three months after the supervised program has ended. The intervention combines aerobic training, resistance training, breathing exercises, education, and individualized symptom-management strategies. The control group will receive usual post-tuberculosis medical care and general physical-activity advice without a structured supervised pulmonary rehabilitation program during the study period.

Interventions

• Behavioral Individualized Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program
  The intervention consists of an 8-week individualized outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program, delivered through three supervised sessions per week, with each session lasting approximately 60 minutes. Each session will include: 5-10 minutes of warm-up and mobility exercises; 20-30 minutes of individualized aerobic training, such as walking, treadmill exercise, or cycle ergometry; resistance exercises targeting the major upper- and lower-limb muscle groups; breathing exercises, including di
• Other Standard Post-Tuberculosis Care
  Standard Post-Tuberculosis Care

Primary outcome measures

• Change From Baseline in EUROHIS-QOL-8 Total Score [Time frame: Baseline, Week 8, and Week 20.]
• Change From Baseline in St George's Respiratory Questionnaire Total Score at Week 20 [Time frame: Baseline to Week 20, corresponding to three months after completion of the 8-week pulmonary rehabilitation program.]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• • Age 18 years or older.

• Documented history of pulmonary tuberculosis with anti-tuberculosis treatment completed according to national standards.
• No clinical evidence of active or relapsed tuberculosis at enrollment; microbiological reassessment will be performed when clinically indicated.
• Persistent respiratory symptoms, exercise limitation, or functional impairment considered attributable to post-tuberculosis lung disease.
• Clinical stability for at least 4 weeks before randomization, with no acute respiratory infection or acute exacerbation requiring treatment change.
• Ability to walk independently, with or without a usual assistive device, and to perform the study assessments.
• Ability to understand the study procedures and provide written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• • Suspected or confirmed active, recurrent, or drug-resistant tuberculosis requiring treatment or isolation.

• Acute respiratory infection or acute cardiopulmonary decompensation within 4 weeks before enrollment.
• Unstable angina, recent myocardial infarction, uncontrolled arrhythmia, decompensated heart failure, severe uncontrolled hypertension, or another contraindication to exercise testing/training.
• Severe neurological, musculoskeletal, or cognitive impairment that prevents safe participation or valid outcome assessment.
• Current participation in another structured pulmonary rehabilitation or supervised exercise program.
• Planned major surgery or another condition likely to prevent completion of the 20-week follow-up.
• Any condition judged by the investigator to make participation unsafe or to substantially interfere with interpretation of the outcomes.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07709507 · UMFCV-PTLD-2026-001

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗