STUDY PROTOCOL article
Front. Med.
Sec. Precision Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1554300
This article is part of the Research TopicNovel Rehabilitation Approaches for Non-Communicable Diseases in the Era of Precision MedicineView all 6 articles
AThletic prOtocol in non-cystic fibrosis related bronchiectasiS: rationale and design of the pilot ATHOS study
Provisionally accepted
Giulia Maria Stella1*
Francesco Bertuccio2
Mitela Tafa1Denise Carabetta1Tiziano Gemelli1
Giuseppe D'Antona1
Oscar Crisafulli1
Valentina Conio2Angelo Corsico1- 1University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- 2San Matteo Hospital Foundation (IRCCS), Pavia, Lombardy, Italy
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Bronchiectasis is a chronic and heterogeneous respiratory condition characterized by irreversible abnormal dilatation of the bronchial tree, chronic cough, copious sputum production and increased risk of acute exacerbations that contribute to the development of chronic respiratory failure, poor exercise tolerance and, consequently, poor quality of life. A large amount of published data regards the diagnostic approach, the clinical management, and the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Moreover, it is well known that exercise-training rehabilitation could be of help to reduce disease deterioration and relieve symptoms. However, the effect of exercise in patients with non-cystic fibrosis related bronchiectasis (NCFB) is scarce, and no athletic programs have been fully developed. The aim of the present study is -thus-to investigate the results obtained by administering a specific athletic/physical protocol to these patients. Among patients affected by NCFB and followed in our Institution, those with highest scores of performance status will be addressed to the Interdipartimental Centre in Motor and Sport Activities, Sport Medicine Centre, University of Pavia for a work protocol based on mesocycles of 3times/week for 6 months. A patient-tailored active training regimen will be set up considering major complaints: endurance training for patients with dyspnea, strength training for patients with cough and difficult sputum expectoration and a balanced aerobic and anaerobic training for patients with asthenia. The ATHOS study is, to the best of our knowledge the first perspective clinical trial encompassing athletic programmes for non-CF bronchiectasis patients and rationale and in itinere, partial results will be presented, analyzed and discussed in comparison to standard disease management.
Keywords: Bronchiectases, exacerbation, Athletic, quality of life, activity
Received: 01 Jan 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Stella, Bertuccio, Tafa, Carabetta, Gemelli, D'Antona, Crisafulli, Conio and Corsico. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Giulia Maria Stella, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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