Device-guided Breathing for Shortness of Breath in COPD

Mayo Clinic

Status: Completed

Conditions: Dyspnea; Hyperinflation; COPD

Treatments: Behavioral: Twice daily practice of device-guided slow breathing.

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01286181

10-008433

Details and patient eligibility

About

Although drug therapies and pulmonary rehabilitation have greatly improved COPD symptoms, as many as 50% of patients with severe COPD have inadequately controlled dyspnea. Device-guided breathing is a behavioral intervention that guides respiratory rates into a therapeutic range; prolongation of the expiratory phase improves hyperinflation, the most significant driver of dyspnea in this population. Device-guided breathing, has no known side-effects, and may represent a cost effective adjunctive treatment for dyspnea in severe COPD.

Enrollment: 11 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 40+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Current or former cigarette smokers of at least 10 pack-years
• Clinically significant dyspnea, as determined by a score of at least 2 on the Medical Research Council Dyspnea Score questionnaire (0-4), or through pulmonary function test results of a residual volume (RV) of > 150% predicted or an FEV1 of <65% predicted
• Clinical diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Exclusion criteria

• Unable to use the slow-breathing device due to hearing impairment
• Poor motivation or lack of interest in using the device
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation ordered as a new therapy at the time of enrollment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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11 participants in 1 patient group

Device-guided slow breathing

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Twice daily practice of device-guided slow breathing.