Functional Capacity
Dyspnea was lower in the TG after the 4-week DBTP
compared with the CG (F5.1; P.05) (table 2). An improvement
in HRQOL for the TG was observed by a 10-point
reduction in the total SGRQ score (F9.7; P.001) (see table
2). The benefits in different SGRQ domains (symptom and
impact) for the TG were statistically significant compared with
the CG, and they were also clinically relevant (reduction 4 in
the score) (fig 4). However, no change in the TG was observed
for the activity domain. Finally, after the 4-week follow-up
period, the TG showed a better performance in the 6MWT
compared with the CG (F4.9; P.05) (see table 2). Effect
sizes were small to medium in favor of the TG on the 6MWT
(d.31), dyspnea (d–.41), and HRQOL (d–.64). Spirometry
values and lung volume data remained unchanged in both
groups (table 3). The statistical analysis performed when the 3 CG dropouts were excluded (per-protocol analysis) showed
results similar to those of the intention-to-treat analysis for all
outcomes (data not shown).