ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2022
Effects of short-term breathing exercises on respiratory recovery in patients with COVID-19: a quasi-experimental study.
Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05833243 (Effectiveness of Modified Diaphragmatic Training for Improving GERD-Q Score, Diaphragmatic Excursion, Maximum Inspiratory Pressure and Lung Function in Adults With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease After Covid-19), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effectiveness of Modified Diaphragmatic Training for Improving GERD-Q Score, Diaphragmatic Excursion, Maximum Inspiratory Pressure and Lung Function in Adults With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease After Covid-19
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Post-Exercise Controlled Breathing Enhances Cardiovascular Recovery and Autonomic Balance: A Randomised Crossover Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Trial
- Neurological Evidence of Diverse Self-Help Breathing Training With Virtual Reality and Biofeedback Assistance: Extensive Exploration Study of Electroencephalography Markers.JMIR formative research · 2024Trial
- Article
- Identifying central symptom clusters and correlates among post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis patients: a network analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Optimizing cardiopulmonary rehabilitation duration for long COVID patients: an exercise physiology monitoring approach.GeroScience · 2024Article
- Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effects of Home-Based Breathing Exercises on Respiratory Function and Fatigue in COVID-19-Cured Young Patients.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Safety and Efficacy of Incentive Spirometer in Covid-19 Pneumonia; a Randomized Clinical Trial.Archives of academic emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Advocating for Action: Exploring the Potential of Virtual Reality in Breathing Exercise - A Review of The Clinical Applications.Patient preference and adherence · 2024Review
- Meta-analysis of the impact of physical activity on the recovery of physical function in COVID-19 patients.Heliyon · 2023Review
- Feasibility and Short-Term SpOJournal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Balance Disorders in People with History of COVID-19 in Light of Posturographic Tests.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- An Experimental Pre-Post Study on the Efficacy of Respiratory Physiotherapy in Severe Critically III COVID-19 Patients.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious respiratory tract disease. The most common clinical manifestation of severe COVID-19 is acute respiratory failure. Respiratory rehabilitation can be a crucial part of treatment, but data lack for patients with COVID-19. This study investigates the effects of short-term respiratory rehabilitation (i.e., breathing exercises) on respiratory recovery among non-ICU hospitalised patients with COVID-19.
methodsThis was a quasi-experimental, pre-and post-test study. The study recruited 173 patients hospitalised with moderate to severe COVID-19. All the patients received standardised care for COVID-19, and 94 patients in the intervention group also received the intervention of breathing exercises, which included breathing control, followed by diaphragmatic breathing, deep breathing, or thoracic expansion exercise, and huffing (forced expiratory technique) and coughing. Data on the mean values of peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO
resultsThe mean (± SD) age of the intervention (69.6% men) and control group (62.1% men) were 50.1 (10.5) and 51.5 (10.4) years, respectively. At 4-day of follow-up, SpO2 (96.6% ± 1.9 vs. 90.7% ± 1.8, P < 0.001), need for oxygen therapy (0.8 ± 2.6 vs. 2.3 ± 2.9, P < 0.001), respiratory rate (20.5 ± 2.3 vs. 22.3 ± 2.5, P < 0.001), and heart rate (81.2 ± 9.5 vs. 89.2 ± 8.9, P < 0.001) improved in the intervention group compared to the control group. At 7-day follow-up, differences remained significant concerning the oxygen saturation and the need for oxygen therapy (P < 0.001) between the groups.
conclusionsOur results indicate that breathing exercise, even for a short period, effectively improves specific respiratory parameters in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. As a non-invasive and cost-effective respiratory rehabilitation intervention, breathing exercise can be a valuable tool for a health care system overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These results should be considered preliminary until they are replicated in larger samples in different settings.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.