skip to main content

Pulmonary rehabilitation — SCE Respiratory MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

HardCOPDPulmonary rehabilitationSCE Respiratory

A 67-year-old woman with COPD is reviewed six weeks after discharge for an exacerbation. She is stable, MRC dyspnoea score is 4, FEV1 is 47% predicted and SpO2 is 94% on air. She has stopped smoking and asks which intervention is most likely to improve exercise tolerance and quality of life. She has no resting hypoxaemia and no recent cardiac instability. What is the most appropriate management?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: E — Pulmonary rehabilitation

The best answer is “Pulmonary rehabilitation”. Pulmonary rehabilitation is the recommended next management step after the clinical severity, prior treatment and contraindications in the stem are taken into account. The alternatives are either insufficient, unnecessarily invasive, or reserved for a different physiological or risk profile. The remaining choices—“Long-term oxygen therapy”, “Maintenance oral theophylline as initial treatment”, “Nebulised salbutamol instead of inhalers”, “Prophylactic oral steroids”—are credible in related respiratory presentations, but each addresses a different diagnostic, staging or management decision and does not fit the decisive findings and pathway position in this stem.

Reference: NICE NG115 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng115/chapter/Recommendations