The Effect of Breathing Exercises on Pain, Anxiety, Dyspnea, and Insomnia in Patients Undergoing Lung Surgery.

NCT ID: NCT06460259

Last Updated: 2025-09-04

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 74 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-08-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-02-28

Brief Summary

Surgical treatment is performed with the aim of reducing, halting the progression of, or treating certain pathological conditions in the human body by removing some tissue or organs from the body. Wedge resection is considered an effective method for the treatment of lung cancer. The wedge resection method is utilized in both malignant and non-malignant pulmonary pathologies (such as bronchiectasis, aspergilloma, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, tuberculosis, fungal infections, inflammatory pseudotumors, hydatid cyst, and benign masses). Following surgical procedures such as Video-Assisted Thorascopic Surgery (VATS) and wedge resection, side effects and complications such as atelectasis, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, prolonged air leakage, chylothorax, sepsis, pneumothorax, pulmonary embolism, empyema, bronchopleural fistula, pain, anxiety, dyspnea, fatigue, and insomnia can occur.

Non-pharmacological methods are observed to increase comfort and control in patients, thereby enhancing their quality of life. Non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy, hot or cold therapy, hypnosis, aromatherapy, massage, progressive relaxation exercises, deep breathing exercises, pursed lip breathing, yoga, and meditation can be employed in the management of postoperative symptoms such as pain, anxiety, dyspnea, insomnia, and fatigue. Studies involving breathing exercises have shown that they reduce anxiety and pain scores after exercise. Alternate nostril breathing, a yoga practice, is considered one of the best breathing exercises for health and fitness. It has positive effects on dyspnea, anxiety, stress, and sleep disorders.

Detailed Description

Surgical treatment is carried out with the aim of reducing, halting the progression of, or treating certain pathological conditions in the human body by removing some tissue or organs from the body. Wedge resection is considered an effective method for the treatment of lung cancer. The wedge resection method is utilized in both malignant and non-malignant pulmonary pathologies (such as bronchiectasis, aspergilloma, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, tuberculosis, fungal infections, inflammatory pseudotumors, hydatid cyst, and benign masses). Following surgical procedures such as VATS and wedge resection, side effects and complications such as atelectasis, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, prolonged air leakage, chylothorax, sepsis, pneumothorax, pulmonary embolism, empyema, bronchopleural fistula, pain, anxiety, dyspnea, fatigue, and insomnia can occur.Non-pharmacological methods are observed to increase comfort and control in patients, thereby enhancing their quality of life. Non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy, hot or cold therapy, hypnosis, aromatherapy, massage, progressive relaxation exercises, deep breathing exercises, pursed lip breathing, yoga, and meditation can be employed in the management of postoperative symptoms such as pain, anxiety, dyspnea, insomnia, and fatigue. Studies involving breathing exercises have shown that they reduce anxiety and pain scores after exercise. Alternate nostril breathing, a yoga practice, is considered one of the best breathing exercises for health and fitness. It has positive effects on dyspnea, anxiety, stress, and sleep disorders. Breathing exercises aim to improve individuals' quality of life and mitigate the effects of the disease, providing inexpensive and side-effect-free practices.Nurses should empower individuals to better manage symptoms such as experiencing less pain, reduced anxiety, alleviation or reduction of dyspnea, insomnia, fatigue, and other symptoms following surgical procedures. No study has been found that examines the effect of alternative nostril breathing exercises on pain, anxiety, dyspnea, fatigue, and insomnia symptoms in patients undergoing lung surgery. Our study aims to contribute to the literature by evaluating the effect of breathing exercises on pain, anxiety, dyspnea, and insomnia in patients undergoing lung resection and VATS procedures.Therefore, this study is planned to determine the effect of breathing exercises on pain, anxiety, dyspnea, and insomnia in patients undergoing lung resection and VATS procedures in a public hospital.

Conditions

Lung Surgery

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
• Blinding Strategy: TRIPLE

Study Groups

Experimental Group

Patients undergoing VATS or wedge resection procedures will be informed and their consent will be obtained prior to the procedure. Individuals who consent and meet the inclusion criteria will fill out a personal information form and then be randomly assigned to groups using simple randomization method. Breathing exercises will be taught individually to participants in the experimental group by the researcher. In the experimental group, breathing exercises will be performed approximately 10 minutes, four times a day, starting from the first day after oral intake.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Breathing Exercise

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

He individual will be seated in a quiet environment in a semi-fowler or fowler position with their feet pointing forward. Then, they will be asked to join their hands on their abdomen and breathe normally while focusing on their breath. They will ensure their shoulders are relaxed, their body is loose, and they will inhale and exhale slowly and deeply through the nose without rushing.Next, while sitting upright with relaxed muscles, they will close their eyes, block their right nostril with their thumb or ring finger, inhale as much air as possible through the left nostril, and hold their breath. Then, they will block the left nostril with their ring finger or thumb and exhale slowly through the right nostril. The same process will be repeated for the left nostril. They will continue this process for approximately 2 minutes.

Control Group

No intervention other than routine nursing care will be performed.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Breathing Exercise

He individual will be seated in a quiet environment in a semi-fowler or fowler position with their feet pointing forward. Then, they will be asked to join their hands on their abdomen and breathe normally while focusing on their breath. They will ensure their shoulders are relaxed, their body is loose, and they will inhale and exhale slowly and deeply through the nose without rushing.Next, while sitting upright with relaxed muscles, they will close their eyes, block their right nostril with their thumb or ring finger, inhale as much air as possible through the left nostril, and hold their breath. Then, they will block the left nostril with their ring finger or thumb and exhale slowly through the right nostril. The same process will be repeated for the left nostril. They will continue this process for approximately 2 minutes.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Having undergone VATS or wedge resection surgery,
• Having orientation to place and time,
• Being communicative,
• Having no visual or hearing impairment.

Exclusion Criteria

• Having a mental health issue that would hinder communication,
• Having any nasal pathology.

• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

KTO Karatay University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Fatma Gündoğdu

Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, PhD

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Fatma Gündoğdu, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

KTO Karatay University

Hasibe Okutan, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Konya City Hospital

Locations

Konya City Hospital

Konya, Konya, Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Other Identifiers

2023/026

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id