Effects of Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Clinical Outcomes in Children With Asthma

Effects of Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Activities of Daily Living, Physical Activities of Daily Living and Other Clinical Outcomes in Children With Asthma: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Although the practice of physical activity is recommended for children with asthma, the scientific literature available so far has focused mainly on improving functional capacity and quality of life. However, the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in this population, especially in improving the level of physical activity in daily living (PADL) and activities of daily living (ADLs) have not yet been investigated in depth. Therefore, the objective of this study is to verify the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on PADL, ADL, and other clinical outcomes of children with asthma. For this, a randomized clinical trial will be carried out that will have 2 groups: the control group (CG), which will receive only educational sessions, and the intervention group (IG) which will participate in a pulmonary rehabilitation program with supervised aerobic training performed three times a week with sessions of 60 minutes each. The total duration of interventions in both groups will be 12 weeks. The primary outcomes of this study are PADL (assessed using a physical activity monitor - Actigraph) and ADL; however, the following will also be evaluated: lung function, functional capacity, asthma control, and quality of life. We hypothesized that the performance of regular physical activity and supervised physical exercise by individuals with asthma could positively impact health outcomes with better control of asthma symptoms, better performance in ADL and PADL, and better quality of life.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age between 6 and 12 years old;
• Clinical diagnosis of asthma, established according to the criteria of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA);
• Absence of other lung diseases or signs and symptoms of other lung diseases;
• Absence of cognitive changes;
• Absence of signs and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease and dysphagia;
• Clinical stability according to the criteria of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA);

Exclusion Criteria:

• Desire of the patient and/or the patient's family to discontinue participation in the study for any reason;
• Present some new limitations that may interfere with functionality;
• Comorbidities that prevent or contraindicate the performance of the proposed interventions.