Earticle

This systematic literature review analyzes domestic studies on pulmo-nary rehabilitation nursing interventions for patients with chronic ob-structive pulmonary disease (COPD) published in the field of rehabilita-tion nursing over the past decade. This analysis will inform the restruc-turing of pulmonary rehabilitation nursing and suggest future research directions. The systematic literature review analyzed 12 domestic stud-ies on pulmonary rehabilitation nursing interventions for patients with COPD. Previous studies have suggested that combined interventions are more effective than single interventions, despite differences in the study populations. Interventions combining exercise and education showed the most significant improvements in self-care behaviors, re-spiratory function, and anxiety. Self-care is the process of maintaining health through health promotion and disease management, regardless of whether the condition is stable or worsening. Therefore, establishing effective self-care in pulmonary rehabilitation requires evidence-based education, individualized interventions, multidisciplinary collaboration, and continuous monitoring with feedback. Effective disease manage-ment in COPD patients requires a thorough understanding of their con-dition and practical behavioral strategies.

This study examined the process of forest hiking (FH) through skeletal muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) and investigated subsequent chang-es in muscle function, erythrocytes, and immunocytes. A total of 60 par-ticipants who their ages, heights, and weights of 73.05±3.23 years, 1.63±0.06 m, and 67.75±9.22 kg. They resided in two living communities, and were assigned to the control (CON, n=30) group, whereas those from the other were allocated to the FH (n=30) group. The intervention consisted of a hiking program performed for 120 min per day, twice per week, over a 4-week period. The degree of oxygen utilization in muscles during the hiking was monitored by measuring SmO2 in the vastus later-alis (VL). During hiking, SmO2 levels in the FH group progressively de-clined, reaching a nadir between 60 and 90 min, followed by partial re-covery. After the intervention, the FH group showed pronounced im-provements in contraction time in the VL than in the biceps femoris (BF), while maximum displacement improved in both the VL and BF (P<0.05). Among erythrocytes parameters, significant interaction effects were observed for hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpus-cular hemoglobin concentration (P<0.05). In addition, significant inter-action effects were found in immunocytes (P<0.01). This study demon-strated that SmO2 can be effectively measured during FH and confirmed that a 4-week hiking induced marked improvements not only in muscle function but also in erythrocytes and immunocytes in older adults.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of plyometric training on body composition, physical fitness, and bone mineral density (BMD) in obese male adolescents. Twenty obese male adolescents were randomly assigned to a control group (n=10) or a plyometric ex-ercise group (n=10). The plyometric exercise group performed the ex-ercise 3 times a week for 12 weeks. Body composition, physical fitness, and BMD were measured before and after the 12-week intervention. Following results were obtained. In the plyometric exercise group, body fat mass significantly decreased before and after the intervention, but differences in body weight, body mass index, and lean body mass were not significant. Among physical fitness factors, grip strength, muscular endurance, and the 20-m shuttle run significantly improved, but flexibility did not show a significant difference. In the plyometric exercise group, BMD significantly improved before and after the intervention. These re-sults indicate that 12 weeks of plyometric training may be effective in improving body composition, physical fitness, and bone density in obese adolescents.