Effectiveness of Paced Breathing Guided by Biofeedback on Clinical and Functional Outcomes Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Uncontrolled Pilot Study

• Published in: Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback Vol. 48; no. 4; pp. 423 - 432
• Main Authors: de Souto Barbosa, Joubert Vitor, do Nascimento Sales Figueiredo Fernandes, Ana Tereza, da Silva, Josicléia Leôncio, da Silva Leal, Luana, de Aquino Santos, Maryelli Laynara Barbosa, de Albuquerque Cacique New York, Beatriz Souza, de Souza Lima, Jacy Maria, Leite, Jéssica Costa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-12-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biofeedback; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Dyspnea; Feedback; Health Psychology; Lung diseases; Mental depression; Muscle strength; Obstructive lung disease; Pilot projects; Psychology; Psychotherapy and Counseling; Public Health; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Respiration; Cardiac coherence; Psychology biofeedback; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Dyspnea
• ISSN: 1090-0586; 1573-3270
• DOI: 10.1007/s10484-023-09591-5

To investigate the effectiveness of paced breathing guided by biofeedback on clinical and functional outcomes of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). An uncontrolled pilot study comprising a training with paced breathing guided by biofeedback (three sessions of 35 min per week) was conducted over four weeks (12 sessions). Assessments included respiratory muscle strength (using a manovacuometer), anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), dyspnea (Baseline Dyspnea Index), functionality (Timed Up and Go Test), health status (COPD Assessment Test) and health-related quality of life (Saint George’s Respiratory Questionnaire). The sample consisted of nine patients with a mean age of 68.2 ± 7.8 years. After intervention, patients significantly improved in health status and health-related quality of life, assessed using the COPD Assessment Test (p < 0.001) and Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (p < 0.001); anxiety (p < 0.001); and depression (p = 0.001). Patients also significantly improved in dyspnea (p = 0.008), TUG (p = 0.015), CC Score (p = 0.031), and maximum inspiratory (p = 0.004) and expiratory pressures (p < 0.001). An intervention with paced breathing guided by biofeedback promoted positive results on dyspnea, anxiety, depression, health status and perceived health-related quality of life in patients with COPD. Moreover, gains in respiratory muscle strength and functional performance were observed, affecting the performance of daily activities.