Effects of breathing exercises in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A network meta-analysis

Author: Yingying Cai1, Xiaohe Ren1, Jingyi Wang1, Bin Ma1, Ou Chen2
Affiliation:
1 School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
2 School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China. Electronic address: chenou@sdu.edu.cn.
Conference/Journal: Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Date published: 2023 May 5
Other: Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2023.04.014. , Word Count: 260


Objective:
A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to compare and rank the effectiveness of various breathing exercises for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases to determine the articles.

Study selection:
Publications investigating the effect of breathing exercises on exercise capacity (six-minute walk test [6MWT]), pulmonary function (the ratio of the first second forced expiratory volume of forced vital capacity [FEV1/FVC]), quality of life (St George's Respiratory Questionnaire [SGRQ]), inspiratory muscle pressure (maximum inspiratory pressure [PImax]), and dyspnea (Borg scale) were searched.

Data extraction:
Data extracted by two researchers were entered into pre-designed tables for data extraction. The quality of the literature was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool.

Data synthesis:
A total of 43 RCTs involving 1977 participants were analyzed. To boost exercise capacity, the top two exercises were inspiratory muscle training (75%), Chinese traditional fitness exercises (13%); To improve pulmonary function, the top two exercises were Chinese traditional fitness exercises (32%), diaphragm breathing (30%); To raise patients' quality of life, the top two exercises were yoga (52%), diaphragm breathing (28%); To increase inspiratory muscle pressure, the top two exercises were pursed-lip breathing (47%), Chinese traditional fitness exercises (25%); To improve dyspnea, the top two exercises were yoga (44%), inspiratory muscle training (22%).

Conclusions:
Various breathing exercises for COPD patients confer benefits that manifest in diverse ways. Pulmonary rehabilitation specialists could administer personalized breathing exercises tailored to each patient's condition to attain optimal therapeutic outcomes.

Keywords: Breathing Exercises; Chronic Obstructive; Dyspnea; Network Meta-Analysis; Pulmonary Disease; Quality of Life.

PMID: 37150427 DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2023.04.014

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