Breath Training Exercise for the Reduction of Chronic Dyspnea

NCT ID: NCT01831388

Last Updated: 2018-07-17

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 23 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2013-03-31
• Study Completion Date: 2018-07-31

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to test whether a breath training exercise program may be used to make patients with chronic lung conditions feel less short of breath, whether such a program is well received by patients and whether a future larger study is worthwhile.

The breath training exercise program uses some breathing techniques derived from Yoga practices. They were shown to help patients experiencing shortness of breath feel less short of breath in other settings. Whether the training is beneficial to patients with chronic lung conditions, especially those with a history of cancer affecting their lungs, is not clear. This study would help us answer that question.

Conditions

Chronic Pulmonary Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

The breath training program

Approximately 30-minutes of group instruction session on breathing techniques delivered at a Main Campus outpatient clinic, followed by approximately 15 minutes twice daily home practice for six weeks with weekly telephone coaching. The intervention will conclude at about week 6. Patients will be encouraged to continue the practice, but there will be no further phone calls to remind patients or to confirm their continuing practice.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

breathing techniques

Intervention Type: OTHER

During all practice sessions, patients are seated in a chair, where they are guided through a set routine of various breathing techniques (detailed in Appendix A). No yoga poses are involved. There is no demand on the patient's physical condition and no risk of injury. The breath training program, with patients seated throughout, includes:

• an initial teaching session (approximately 30-minute) at main campus by an MSKCC Integrative Medicine Service yoga-breathing instructor; - twice daily,breathing exercises (each approximately 15-minute) for 6 weeks practiced by patients at home with supplied recorded audio instructions; - and weekly follow-up phone calls by research staff (+/- 3 days from day 7 of each week) to identify and manage problems and to determine compliance.

Self-Administered Baseline and Transition Dyspnea Indexes

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Patients are asked to complete baseline SAC-BDI/TDI questionnaires at the pulmonary clinic. Patients will return to the pulmonary clinic at about week 6 for SAC-BDI/TDI and tests, and to return the diary recording their home exercises. Resting and post-6MWT pulse oximetry, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) will be evaluated as well.

Interventions

breathing techniques

During all practice sessions, patients are seated in a chair, where they are guided through a set routine of various breathing techniques (detailed in Appendix A). No yoga poses are involved. There is no demand on the patient's physical condition and no risk of injury. The breath training program, with patients seated throughout, includes:

• an initial teaching session (approximately 30-minute) at main campus by an MSKCC Integrative Medicine Service yoga-breathing instructor; - twice daily,breathing exercises (each approximately 15-minute) for 6 weeks practiced by patients at home with supplied recorded audio instructions; - and weekly follow-up phone calls by research staff (+/- 3 days from day 7 of each week) to identify and manage problems and to determine compliance.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Self-Administered Baseline and Transition Dyspnea Indexes

Patients are asked to complete baseline SAC-BDI/TDI questionnaires at the pulmonary clinic. Patients will return to the pulmonary clinic at about week 6 for SAC-BDI/TDI and tests, and to return the diary recording their home exercises. Resting and post-6MWT pulse oximetry, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) will be evaluated as well.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• >18 years of age
• Diagnosis of a chronic pulmonary disorder (a diagnosis of lung cancer is not required as the symptom of dyspnea, not cancer itself, is targeted)
• If diagnosed with lung cancer, must have completed definitive treatment more than 6 months prior
• At least moderate dyspnea defined by a BDI score of 6 or less in the Self- Administered Computerized Versions of the Baseline and Transition Dyspnea Indexes(SAC-BDI/TDI)13,14 (This cutoff score is close to the score of 5.7 used to define "moderate dyspnea" in the publication that validated the instrument and is selected by attending physicians in the Pulmonary Service as a good indication of "moderate dyspnea" in clinical practice. A typical person with BDI of 6, for example, would be a 52 year old woman who has to pause when walking because of dyspnea and/or has eliminated doing an activity because of dyspnea).
• Able to safely complete the Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT)15 as per attending physician's clinical judgment.
• Respiratory functions clinically stable for the preceding 3 months and expected to be stable for the next 3 months as determined by project PIs and other Pulmonary Medicine faculty.

Exclusion Criteria

• Life expectancy less than 6 months
• Any cause of dyspnea that is determined by the investigators as readily reversible by other means (e.g. pleural effusion, pulmonary embolism, acute infection, anemia Hb<9.0, etc.)
• Non-English speaking

• Minimum Eligible Age: 19 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Gary Deng, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Locations

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

New York, New York, United States

Countries

United States

Related Links

http://www.mskcc.org/

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Other Identifiers

12-261

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id