Breathing Exercise

Researchers are studying the immediate and long-term effects of structured breathing exercises on mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, stress, and sleep quality. The study focuses on healthcare professionals experiencing burnout and aims to assess how these breathing practices might support their mental well-being. This behavioral intervention is sponsored by Mayo Clinic and targets adults aged 18 to 85 years. Participants will engage in self-guided structured breathing sessions lasting 15, 30, or 36 minutes, tailored to their personal skill level. The study monitors the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of these breathing exercises over a four-month period. The intervention is delivered via a mobile app, allowing participants to practice breathing exercises on their own schedule. During the study, participants will be assessed on recruitment ease, retention, mobile app engagement, satisfaction with the breathing intervention, and adherence to the program. Researchers will collect data through mobile app usage metrics and self-reported measures to evaluate how well the intervention fits into the participants' routines. The total participation time for each individual is four months, during which their progress and experience with the breathing practice will be closely monitored.

Researchers are evaluating a new electronic health record (EHR)-based strategy designed to improve adherence to lung-protective ventilation (LPV) for patients requiring mechanical ventilation. This cluster randomized trial involves 10 hospitals classified by size to ensure balanced groups. The study compares patient outcomes before and after implementing the intervention, allowing direct comparison between hospitals using the new ventilator order and those continuing standard care. The intervention consists of a new ventilator order integrated into the EHR, developed using economic behavior theory to ease the ordering process for providers. Key features include automatic calculation of predicted body weight (PBW) based on height, prompts to obtain height if missing, simplified ventilator modes aligned with standard care, reduced redundant information, and improved visualization through cascade orders. The intervention period lasts 9 months, after which the new strategy will be introduced to all hospitals. Participants are patients aged 18 and older who require mechanical ventilation at one of the participating hospitals. Researchers will monitor adherence to lung-protective ventilation over 4 hours as the primary outcome, along with secondary measures such as time spent with specific tidal volume settings over 72 hours. Data collection includes ventilator settings and patient outcomes during the intervention and control periods. The trial runs from July 2025 to July 2026, with no masking or blinding applied.

This research aims to evaluate a behavioral intervention called Behavioral Exposure for Interoceptive Tolerance (BE-FIT) designed to reduce exercise anxiety and improve exercise adherence in patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation who are 40 years of age or older. The trial is a Stage II randomized-controlled study involving 146 patients with elevated exercise anxiety, aiming to understand if BE-FIT can help patients overcome anxiety to increase their physical activity during rehabilitation. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the BE-FIT intervention group or a Health Education Control (HEC) group. The BE-FIT program includes six one-on-one sessions over three weeks, focusing on exposure to feared bodily sensations, avoiding safety behaviors around exercise, and using a wrist-worn Fitbit to track and set physical activity goals. The HEC group receives matched contact time with educational sessions on healthy aging topics and also uses the Fitbit but without physical activity goals. Participants will attend six 45-minute individual sessions during the initial weeks of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, scheduled before or after regular rehabilitation sessions. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, end of treatment, and at three follow-ups over 24 weeks. Researchers will collect data on exercise minutes, attendance at rehabilitation, and steps per day, monitoring progress and safety throughout the approximately six-month duration of the study.

This research aims to evaluate the benefits of a pulmonary rehabilitation program using breathing exercises for people with chronic airway diseases, including COPD and asthma. The study focuses on improving functional capacity measured by the six-minute walking distance test, reducing breathlessness using the Medical Research Council dyspnea scale, and enhancing lung function and arterial blood gases. It highlights the importance of breathing techniques to improve respiratory muscle efficiency and ventilation, which can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group receives usual medication treatment for chronic airway diseases without breathing exercises, while the other group receives medication combined with breathing exercises such as diaphragmatic breathing, pursed lip breathing, and use of an incentive spirometer. The study measures lung function outcomes like forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) over a 6-month period. During the study, participants undergo regular assessments including lung function tests and walking distance evaluations to track improvements. Researchers monitor symptoms and breathing capacity to understand the impact of the breathing exercises. The study includes adults aged 18 and older who have clinically stable COPD or asthma and have not previously participated in exercise training. The total study duration and follow-up details correspond to the 6-month outcome measurement period.

Hydrogen breath tests are used to detect carbohydrate malabsorption, measure the time it takes food to move through the intestines (oro-caecal transit time or OCTT), link hydrogen gas increases with abdominal symptoms like bloating and diarrhea, and diagnose small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Differentiating carbohydrate intolerance from SIBO is important because their treatments differ, with dietary changes used for intolerance and antibiotics for SIBO. Recent guidelines question the accuracy of hydrogen breath tests alone for diagnosing SIBO due to variable OCTT measurements, which can cause false positives. This study evaluates a new, simple, and affordable method combining a 20g lactulose hydrogen breath test with abdominal X-ray imaging to confirm OCTT and diagnose SIBO or carbohydrate intolerance. During the test, if hydrogen levels rise before the contrast agent appears in the cecum, SIBO is indicated. If the contrast agent is visible when hydrogen increases, OCTT is confirmed and symptoms after this point suggest carbohydrate intolerance. This approach aims to improve diagnosis without the higher costs and complexity of other imaging techniques. Participants included adults referred for hydrogen breath testing due to digestive symptoms with no organic disease found. During the test, breath hydrogen is monitored while abdominal X-rays are taken when hydrogen rises. Researchers will assess the safety and practicality of this combined test, measure agreement between observers analyzing OCTT, and determine the prevalence of food intolerance and SIBO among participants. The total assessment occurs within three hours during routine clinical care, using existing clinical data with patient consent.

Sarcoidosis is a complex disease that can affect many organs and systems, most commonly the lungs, leading to reduced lung capacity, muscle weakness, and symptoms like shortness of breath and fatigue. It mostly occurs in young and middle-aged adults and impacts quality of life through physical and emotional challenges, including anxiety and depression. This research aims to compare the effects of yogic techniques and conventional physiotherapy on lung function, exercise capacity, fatigue, mental health, sleep, and overall quality of life in patients with sarcoidosis at various stages. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a conventional physiotherapy program or a yoga program, both supervised by a physiotherapist. Each program involves two days per week of group-based tele-rehabilitation and three days of home exercises tracked with a diary over 8 weeks. The physiotherapy group will perform strengthening and breathing exercises, including resistance training and thoracic expansion, while the yoga group will practice pranayama breathing techniques and yoga postures. Both groups will also engage in aerobic walking exercises three days per week. During the study, participants will undergo assessments at the start and after 8 weeks, including lung function tests, exercise capacity tests, fatigue and dyspnea evaluations, mental health scales, sleep quality, and quality of life questionnaires. The research team will monitor these measures to understand the effects of each program. The total participation time is 8 weeks, with close supervision and standardized rehabilitation exercises to support patient well-being and gather comprehensive data.

This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a pulmonary rehabilitation program tailored to patients with dysfunctional breathing (DB), a condition affecting about 9% of the general population and common in people with diseases like asthma or COPD. The study compares this specialized rehabilitation, guided by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), against standard physiotherapy focused on breathing retraining. The goal is to find improved ways to relieve symptoms and address the lack of consensus on diagnosing and treating DB. The trial involves two groups: one receives a pulmonary rehabilitation program consisting of 16 sessions over 8 weeks, combining exercise with breathing retraining guided by CPET findings, and the other group undergoes physiotherapy with five sessions over 9 weeks focusing on progressive breathing retraining and related techniques. Both treatments aim to address erratic breathing patterns and hyperventilation characteristic of DB. Participants will have assessments including CPET, questionnaires like the Nijmegen questionnaire and Breathing Pattern Assessment Tool, and scales measuring anxiety, depression, and dyspnea at enrollment and after their treatment period (8 or 9 weeks depending on the group). Researchers will track breathing patterns, symptom changes, and quality of life. The study is randomized and single-blinded, with a total participation time of about two months.

Researchers are studying adult patients who are undergoing mechanical ventilation and preparing to be weaned off the ventilator. The study focuses on evaluating diaphragmatic effort and movement during a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT), which involves no assistance from the ventilator. The goal is to explore new ways to assess diaphragm function using diaphragmatic longitudinal strain (LSdi) and strain rate (LSRdi) alongside existing measurements, to help detect diaphragmatic dysfunction earlier. Participants will be monitored during a spontaneous breathing trial lasting between 30 and 120 minutes, using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) with zero pressure support. Researchers will measure diaphragm function parameters, including diaphragmatic strain (LSdi, LSRdi), thickening fraction (TFdi), and airway occlusion pressures (94P0.1 and 94Pocc). These measurements will be taken at baseline before the trial, and then at 2 minutes (early), 15 minutes (intermediate), and 30 minutes (late) after the trial starts. During the study, patients will undergo regular assessments of diaphragm function using non-invasive imaging and pressure measurements. The research team aims to monitor changes in diaphragmatic longitudinal strain and strain rate throughout the SBT over a 7-day observation period. This detailed monitoring will help evaluate how the diaphragm performs during weaning from mechanical ventilation. Participants' safety and clinical condition will be observed throughout the study period.

Researchers are studying very preterm infants born before 33 weeks of gestation to find the smallest effective dose of dobutamine needed to treat low blood flow in the superior vena cava during the first 72 hours after birth. This condition, called hemodynamic insufficiency, affects blood circulation in newborns during transitional circulation. The study is a phase 1/2, single-center dose-finding trial aiming to improve care for these vulnerable infants. Participants will receive intravenous dobutamine at one of five increasing doses: 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 micrograms per kilogram per minute. The attending physician will decide when to reduce or stop the infusion following local guidelines. Each dose group is studied to determine the minimum dobutamine dose that raises and maintains superior vena cava flow above 55 ml/kg/min within 1 to 3 hours. During the study, researchers will monitor the infants' blood flow and clinical status for up to 72 hours and track any adverse events for about 12 months on average. The primary measurement is the minimum dobutamine dose needed to maintain adequate blood flow. Secondary outcomes include how many infants achieve stable circulation and the frequency of any side effects. The study will help define safe and effective doses for treating this condition in very preterm babies.

Researchers are investigating dysfunctional breathing in patients with post COVID-19 condition to understand what signs, symptoms, and assessments can describe and explain this issue. The study aims to identify measurements that can detect dysfunctional breathing and to evaluate methods for measuring it regarding validity, reliability, and sensitivity. The research is part of a larger project called ReCOV, which looks at the long-term effects of COVID-19 on patients, their families, and healthcare staff. This observational study has a cross-sectional design and will recruit about 200 patients from the ReCOV cohort and primary care. Participants will be adults over 18 years old who report persistent respiratory problems or suspected dysfunctional breathing patterns. Evaluations include physical and psychological function assessments, questionnaires, and various measurements such as breathing pattern analysis with a Respiratory Movement Measuring Instrument, muscle strength tests, chest mobility, walking endurance, spirometry, diaphragmatic ultrasound, and carbon dioxide levels during exercise. Participants will undergo a one-time assessment using multiple tools to measure breathing patterns, physical activity, symptoms, and health-related quality of life. Questionnaires will evaluate breathing dysfunction, respiratory symptoms, anxiety, depression, and overall health status. The study will also collect data on diaphragm thickness and movement. The primary outcomes focus on breathing pattern and quality of life, with secondary outcomes covering muscle strength, chest mobility, endurance, and other respiratory functions. The study helps to better understand breathing difficulties after COVID-19 and to develop tailored interventions for rehabilitation.