RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Nutrition and Exercise Rehabilitation in Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (NERO): a pilot randomised controlled trial JF Thorax JO Thorax FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society SP 62 OP 69 DO 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2016-209826 VO 73 IS 1 A1 Swapna Mandal A1 Eui-Sik Suh A1 Rachel Harding A1 Anna Vaughan-France A1 Michelle Ramsay A1 Bronwen Connolly A1 Danielle E Bear A1 Helen MacLaughlin A1 Sharlene A Greenwood A1 Michael I Polkey A1 Mark Elliott A1 Tao Chen A1 Abdel Douiri A1 John Moxham A1 Patrick B Murphy A1 Nicholas Hart YR 2018 UL http://thorax.bmj.com/content/73/1/62.abstract AB Background Respiratory management of obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) focusses on the control of sleep-disordered breathing rather than the treatment of obesity. Currently, there are no data from randomised trials of weight loss targeted rehabilitation programmes for patients with OHS.Intervention A 3-month multimodal hybrid inpatient–outpatient motivation, exercise and nutrition rehabilitation programme, in addition to non invasive ventilation (NIV), would result in greater per cent weight loss compared with standard care.Methods A single-centre pilot randomised controlled trial allocated patients to either standard care or standard care plus rehabilitation. Primary outcome was per cent weight loss at 12 months with secondary exploratory outcomes of weight loss, exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) at the end of the rehabilitation programme to assess the intervention effect.Results Thirty-seven patients (11 male, 59.8±12.7 years) with a body mass index of 51.1±7.7 kg/m2 were randomised. At 12 months, there was no between-group difference in per cent weight loss (mean difference −5.9% (95% CI −14.4% to 2.7%; p=0.17)). At 3 months, there was a greater per cent weight loss (mean difference −5% (95% CI −8.3% to −1.4%; p=0.007)), increased exercise capacity (6 min walk test 60 m (95% CI 29.5 to 214.5) vs 20 m (95% CI 11.5 to 81.3); p=0.036) and HRQL (mean difference SF-36 general health score (10 (95% CI 5 to 21.3) vs 0 (95% CI −5 to 10); p=0.02)) in the rehabilitation group.Conclusion In patients with OHS, a 3-month comprehensive rehabilitation programme, in addition to NIV, resulted in improved weight loss, exercise capacity and QOL at the end of the rehabilitation period, but these effects were not demonstrated at 12 months, in part, due to the limited retention of patients at 12 months.Trial registration number Pre-results; NCT01483716.