BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious lung disease for individuals in middle age and especially in old people. The study was aimed to observe the curative effect of device-guided rehabilitation on respiratory functions in stable COPD patients. METHODS: Sixty-seven stable COPD patients were enrolled and assigned to the experiment group (n = 36) and the control group (n = 31). The conventional pulmonary rehabilitation treatments, including pursed lips breathing (PLB) and abdominal breathing training, were applied in the control group. Respiratory muscle training of the experiment group was performed using the respiratory endurance training device combined with traditional techniques. Both groups were assessed by 6-minute walk test (6MWT), COPD assessment test (CAT), body mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise capacity (BODE) index. Besides, the pulmonary function (FVC%, FEVl%) were measured at 6 months before and after treatment. RESULTS: After treatment, the 6MWT, CAT, BODE index were significantly increased compared with pre-treatment in both groups (p < 0.01), but not FVC% and FEV1%. Compared with the control group, the combination therapy in the experiment group could significantly improve the 6MWT (p = 0.0094), CAT (p = 0.0071) and BODE index (p = 0.0064) as well as the changes of 6MWT (p < 0.01), CAT (p < 0.01), and BODE index (p < 0.01) before and after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The traditional respiratory training combined with device-guided pulmonary rehabilitation can improve the respiratory muscle function and athletic ability in stable COPD patients.

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