- Design
- Assessor-blinded, multicentre randomised controlled trial
- Population
- 51 people aged 6 to 20 with post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans in Spain
- Primary outcome
- Peak oxygen uptake and ventilatory threshold measures
- Effect
- VO2 peak +3.39 mL/kg/min (p = 0.04); 30-second sit-to-stand +2.2 repetitions
Young people with post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans were randomised to 16 weeks of home-based high-intensity interval training supervised remotely in real time, or to general physical activity advice.
Cardiorespiratory fitness and functional capacity improved with training; lung function did not.
The trial was small and the p values were close to the significance threshold. Still, remote supervision makes the model feasible where specialist rehabilitation is far away.
- Peak oxygen uptake rose by 3.4 mL/kg/min more than with general activity advice.
- Sit-to-stand repetitions and time to ventilatory threshold also improved.
- Spirometry and quality-of-life scores did not change.
- Sessions were two 40-minute high-intensity interval sessions a week, supervised by video in real time.
Why it matters
Lung function in this condition rarely improves, so fitness is one of the few modifiable targets.
The statistics, in plain English
A p value of 0.04 is only just significant, and several outcomes were tested, so the result needs confirming in a larger group.
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