Early pulmonary rehabilitation is recommended for patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, yet challenges like monotony and poor adherence remain. This study evaluated a novel multi-parameter respiratory trainer against traditional methods. In a randomized controlled trial, 90 patients were assigned to three groups: multi-parameter device, three-ball trainer, or pursed-lip breathing, alongside standard medication. The primary outcomes were dyspnea, health status, and exercise capacity, with psychological status and lung function as secondary outcomes. Baseline data were comparable. Post-treatment, the multi-parameter device group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in dyspnea, CAT score, six-minute walking distance, and depression and anxiety scores compared to both traditional groups. For lung function, this group also showed superior improvement in FEV1 change versus the pursed-lip breathing group. All three groups showed significant within-group improvements. The intervention was safe, with no adverse events reported. Under supervised inpatient conditions, the multi-parameter respiratory training device is safe and effective for short-term pulmonary rehabilitation in AECOPD patients, offering superior improvements in patient-centered outcomes compared with conventional methods. However, the evidence is limited to supervised inpatient settings, and the device should be considered a complementary option to, not a replacement for, basic respiratory training when resources permit.
Xing et al. (Mon,) studied this question.