The Effect of Breathing Exercises on Respiratory Function Test Parameters and Dyspnea in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease and Asthma: A Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION: Chronic lung diseases affect quality of life and are characterized by dyspnea and exacerbation. In addition to pharmacological treatments, pulmonary rehabilitation programs aim to reduce the impact of the disease. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of breathing exercises (BEs) on pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and dyspnea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma.
METHODS: In this retrospective study, a total of 60 patients diagnosed with COPD (n = 30) and asthma (n = 30) were included between August 2020 and March 2021. All participants performed BEs 4 days a week for 4 weeks, and their effects were evaluated. The functional status of the participants was evaluated with PFT (forced vital capacity [FVC], forced expiratory volume-1 (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow) parameters and dyspnea severity with the modified Borg scale. In addition, blood oxygen saturation and heart rate were also recorded and evaluated.
RESULTS: After 4 weeks BEs program, it was observed that there was an increase in FEV1/FVC value among PFT parameters in patients diagnosed with asthma and no significant change in other values, while there was no change in pulmonary function parameters, blood oxygen saturation and heart rate results in patients diagnosed with COPD.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It was found that PFT parameters, blood oxygen saturation, and heart rate remained stable during the 4-week follow-up period in individuals with COPD and asthma who performed BE.

Keywords: Asthma, breathing exercises, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, modified borg scale, pulmonary function test.