Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation under health guidance from clinic nurses on endurance capacity,quality of life, and lung function of the old patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods 54 old patients with stableCOPD were provided with health advice and rehabilitation training for 3 months. Their dyspnea and fatigue were evaluated with Borgrating scales, lung function were tested, 6-minute walking performance and quality of life were rated before and after the rehabilitation. ResultsThe dyspnea and fatigue decreased, 6-minute walking distance increased, and scores of quality of life improved (P<0.01) after rehabilitation,but lung function was not improved significantly (p0.05). Conclusion Health guidance from clinic nurses is able to improve the endurancecapacity and quality of life in old patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Key words: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, health guidance, rehabilitation, quality of life