A COMPREHENSIVE PULMONARY REHABILITATION PROGRAM FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF POSTTUBERCULOSIS PNEUMOTHORAX: A CASE STUDY

Pulmonary tuberculosis is a contagious disease of the lung caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease is curable and preventable, but its sequelae induce structural lung damage, physiological dysfunction resulting in disability, respiratory distress, and decreased exercise capacity affecting ADLs. Pneumothorax is considered to be a major complication of TB among all the known sequelae. In the present case, the patient complained of moderate dyspnea, chest pressure, and chest pain. Based on chest radiography and a previous diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, the patient was diagnosed with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP). The pneumothorax was relieved by medical intervention, i.e. by intercostal drainage, but our goal was to increase the ventilation and oxygenation of the lungs, improve airways hygiene, improve the exercise tolerance and minimize the work of breathing so that the patient can go back to his normal day-to-day activities without any trouble. A comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation plan was structured to suit the patient's goal and was implemented and routinely followed for 1 month. It included a range of interventions like breathing exercises, airway clearance techniques, physical mobility exercises, and posture retraining. The patient demonstrated significant functional improvement in aerobic capacity, endurance, exercise tolerance capacity, and increased shoulder joint mobility. In the present case, it has also been validated that medical management anchored with Pulmonary Rehabilitation will help in gaining better outcomes.