A STUDY OF LONG-TERM EFFECT OF THERAPY IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

The effects of three forms of therapy, namely (1) antibiotics and nebulized bronchodilators, (2) intermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB) and (3) breathing exercises, were evaluated in three comparable groups of patients with chronic bronchitis and emphysema. None of the thirty-one subjects in the three groups had been treated previously with any form of therapy. The results of serial pulmonary function studies and clinical observations showed no difference in the response to the three forms of therapy. No group showed significant improvement. In general, there was slight deterioration in most measured functions, but the changes were very small with only a few attaining statistical significance. For all practical purposes function did not change significantly during the one year follow-up period, a result in accord with reported studies in which casually or intermittently treated patients were evaluated. It would therefore appear that the three most commonly used forms of therapy do not influence the long-term course of chronic bronchitis and emphysema. © 1969.