Manejo nutricional en los programas de rehabilitación respiratoria de los pacientes con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica

it is estimated that at least one third of patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) have a significant alteration of their body composition, which is associated with deleterious clinical effects and higher mortality. however, there is a lack of evidence to support that dietary, pharmacological or both nutritional interventions have significant clinical benefits in copd patients who are participating in a pulmonary rehabilitation program. at the present time the recommendation is to establish a nutritional diagnosis of the copd patients from the beginning of the pulmonary rehabilitation program using the measurement of body mass index (bmi) and the estimation of the nutritional risk, which means a significant weight loss during a given period of time, followed by an individualized dietary and educational supplementation guide during at least 12 weeks.