Nevertheless , there was " low-level " evidence that HEPs can improve walking capacity and quality of life in patients with intermittent claudication when compared with baseline or in comparison to usual care/observation control .
In addition , improvements with  HEPs  may be inferior to those evoked by supervised exercise training .
We aim ed to conduct a systematic review of the evidence for structured , home-based exercise programmes ( HEPs ) in patients with intermittent claudication .
Evaluation of patient compliance, quality of life impact and cost-effectiveness of a "test in-train out" exercise-based rehabilitation program for patients with intermittent claudication.
BACKGROUND Patients with intermittent claudication ( IC ) could benefit from low-cost , effective rehabilitative programs . This retrospective study evaluates compliance , impact on Quality of Life ( QoL ) and cost-effectiveness of a hospital prescribed , at-home performed ( Test-in/Train-out ) rehabilitative program for patients with IC . METHODS AND RESULTS Two-hundred and eighty-nine patients with IC ( 71 ± 10.1 years , M = 210 ) were enrolled for a 2-year period .  Two daily 10-min home walking sessions at maximal asymptomatic speed were prescribed , with serial check-ups at the hospital . Compliance with the program was assessed by assigning a score of 1 ( lowest compliance ) to 4 ( highest compliance ) . The SF-36 question naire and a constant-load treadmill test  were used to evaluate QoL and Initial/Absolute Claudication Distance , respectively . Both direct and indirect costs of the program were considered for cost-effectiveness analysis . Two-hundred and fifty patients ( 70.5 ± 9.2 years , M = 191 ) , at Fontaine 's II-B stage ( 86 % ) , were included in the study . No adverse events were reported . The average compliance score was 3.1 . At discharge , both SF-36 domains and walking performance significantly increased ( P < 0.0001 ) . A total of 1,839 in-hospital check-ups ( 7.36 /patient ) were performed . Direct and indirect costs represented 93 % and 7 % of the total costs , respectively . The average costs of a visit and of a therapy cycle were C68.93 and C507.20 , respectively . The cost to walk an additional meter before stopping was C9.22 . CONCLUSIONS A Test-in/Train-out program provided favourable patient compliance , QoL impact and cost-effectiveness in patients with IC
Nevertheless , there was " low-level " evidence that HEPs can improve walking capacity and quality of life in patients with intermittent claudication when compared with baseline or in comparison to usual care/observation control .
In addition , improvements with  HEPs  may be inferior to those evoked by supervised exercise training .
We aim ed to conduct a systematic review of the evidence for structured , home-based exercise programmes ( HEPs ) in patients with intermittent claudication .