# Operative lung cancer patients’ knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation

## TL;DR

This study explores what lung cancer patients know about pulmonary rehabilitation and finds that certain preoperative factors are linked to higher awareness.

## Contribution

The study identifies preoperative CAT score and mMRC difference as factors associated with awareness of pulmonary rehabilitation in lung cancer patients.

## Key findings

- Higher preoperative CAT scores correlate with increased awareness of pulmonary rehabilitation.
- A larger mMRC difference is significantly associated with better knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation.
- Many patients lack knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation, regardless of their clinical factors.

## Abstract

We conducted this survey to explore what operative lung cancer patients knew about pulmonary rehabilitation and the factors that influence it.

Between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020, patients who received thoracic surgery were enrolled in this study. We used a three-part questionnaire to collect the clinical features and knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation.

A total of 93 patients were enrolled in this study. Most patients were female, ≤60 years old, had normal pulmonary function, and had been diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer. Univariate analysis revealed that patients with abnormal pulmonary ventilatory function, higher preoperative COPD assessment test (CAT) scores, higher CAT differences, and higher mMRC differences showed a higher awareness of pulmonary rehabilitation (p = 0.043, 0.029, 0.178, and 0.003, respectively). Multivariate analysis suggested that preoperative CAT score (p = 0.01) and mMRC difference (p = 0.001) were the factors associated with awareness of pulmonary rehabilitation.

Many factors may influence the patients’ knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation. We found that a higher preoperative CAT score and a larger mMRC difference were factors associated with awareness of pulmonary rehabilitation. However, assistance should also be provided to patients who do not fall into these categories, as they may lack knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation.