Falling in Patients With COPD Referred to Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Incidence, Risk Factors and Prediction Tools

The primary aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of falling in a cohort of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) referred to a pulmonary rehabilitation program and to verify the risk factors. The secondary aim is to verify whether available balance assessment tools are feasible in clinical practice and which tools and values can best predict falls in people with COPD.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with a primary diagnosis of COPD according to internationally accepted guidelines
• All patients referred to the outpatient PR program of Gasthuisberg University Hospital (Leuven, Belgium).

Exclusion Criteria:

• None