The effect of teach-back training intervention of breathing exercise on the level of dyspnea, six-minutes walking test and FEV1/FVC ratio in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an irreversible pulmonary obstruction. Respiratory exercise training by a feedback-based model besides the routine managements have been considered to perform. Research design and methods Eighty exacerbated COPD patients with informed consent were divided to the control group (n = 40) received the routine approach and the intervention group (n = 40) received a teach-back training method (TBTM) of respiratory exercise including diaphragmatic breathing (DB), pursed-lip breathing (PLB), and effective coughing (EC) plus routine approach. The clinical outcomes were evaluated by measurement of the FEV1/FVC ratio, the Borg scale of dyspnea (BSD), and the 6-minute walking test (6MWT) results at the baseline, just after TBTM, and next 3 months. Results FEV1/FVC ratio has been indicated the significant improvement followed by TBTM compare to the baseline (p < 0.001). Moreover, the BSD scores in 3-month follow-up after TBTM were significantly lower compared to the baseline (6 ± 1.3 vs. 3.8 ± 0.78, p < 0.001). Although a significant difference was reported in 6MWT distance between two groups after 3-month follow-up (p < 0.001), there was no significant difference immediately after the TBTM (p = 0.992) that suggested a long-term effect of educational intervention on physical activity. Conclusion Significant enhancement in the clinical variables can demonstrate the efficacy of the TBTM program in reducing COPD patients’ symptoms. Trial registration http//www.irct.ir.Unique identifier: IRCT20181024041449N5.