BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) affects 45% to 63% of lung cancer patients worldwide. Lung cancer patients complicated with COPD have decreased cardiopulmonary function and increased perioperative risk, and their postoperative exercise endurance and lung function are significantly lower than those with conventional lung cancer. Previous studies have shown that postoperative exercise training can improve the exercise endurance of unselected lung cancer patients, but it is unclear whether lung cancer patients with COPD can also benefit from postoperative exercise training. This study intends to explore the effects of postoperative exercise training on exercise endurance, daily activity and lung function of lung cancer patients with COPD. METHODS: Seventy-four patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) complicated with COPD who underwent pneumonectomy in the lung cancer center of West China Hospital of Sichuan University from August 5, 2020 to August 25, 2021 were prospectively analyzed. They were randomly divided into exercise group and control group; The patients in the two groups received routine postoperative rehabilitation in the first week after operation, and the control group was given routine nursing from the second week. On this basis, the exercise group received postoperative exercise rehabilitation training for two weeks. Baseline evaluation was performed 3 days before operation and endpoint evaluation was performed 3 weeks after operation. RESULTS: The exercise endurance, daily activity and pulmonary function test results of the two groups decreased from baseline to the end point. However, after the operation and intervention program, the maximum oxygen consumption of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test and the walking distance of 6-Minute Walking Test in the exercise group were significantly better than those in the control group (13.09 +/- 1.46 mL/kg/min versus 11.89 +/- 1.38 mL/kg/min, p = 0.0033; 297 +/- 46 metres versus 243 +/- 43 metres, p = 0.0041). The average number of we-chat steps in the exercise group was also significantly better than that in the control group (4,381 +/- 397 versus 3,478 +/- 342, p = 0.0035). Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in the exercise group were better than those in the control group, but the difference did not reach a statistically significant level (1.76 +/- 0.19 L versus 1.60 +/- 0.28 L, p = 0.0084; 1.01 +/- 0.17 L versus 0.96 +/- 0.21 L, p = 0.0467). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative exercise rehabilitation training can improve exercise endurance and daily activity ability of patients with lung cancer complicated with COPD and promote postoperative rehabilitation.

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