Key result
Medical hypnosis significantly increased the 6-minute walk distance by 61.9% from baseline compared to 16.5% in matched historical controls among patients with severe COPD.
Why the study?
Limited efficacy of treatments for COPD leaves patients with persistent dyspnoea and handicap, creating a need for new symptomatic treatments.
Does medical hypnosis improve 6-min walking test distance in severe COPD patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation?
Case-Control (n=35)
Open-label
No
Does medical hypnosis improve 6-min walking test distance in severe COPD patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation?
Absolute Event Rate: 61.9% vs 16.5%
p-value: p=0.029
Adding medical hypnosis to an in-hospital pulmonary rehabilitation program may significantly improve exercise capacity in patients with severe COPD.
Hypnosis may enhance exercise capacity in severe COPD rehabilitation; hypothesis-generating and requires confirmation in randomised trials.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disabling condition that affects around 10% of the world population [1]. Limited efficacy of etiopathogenic treatments often leaves patients with persistent dyspnoea [2] and handicap. This makes symptomatic treatments a priority. Opiates are sometimes beneficial, but often difficult to use. Finding new treatments thus appears of paramount importance. In this frame, medical hypnosis, recently shown as very effective at alleviating various types of experimental dyspnoea in healthy humans [3], may provide a promising approach. It is safe, cheap and it can improve various pathological conditions [4, 5] especially pain, either acute or chronic [6, 7]. Footnotes This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research . It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article. Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to report regarding this work. Gladys Beuze reports no conflict of interest at all. Outside this work and over the last 3 years, Christian Straus reports grant and support to his department from Centre Hospitalier de Lille and CARMAT. Sophie Lavault reports personal fees for consulting and teaching activities from Chiesi France. Antoine Guerder reports personal fees for consulting and teaching activities from Epione Santé, ASV Santé, Glaxosmith Kline and for travel and congress expenses from Chiesi and Sanofi. Capucine Morélot-Panzini reports personal fees for consulting and teaching activities from AstraZeneca France, Chiesi France, Sanofi France, Novartis France, GlaxiSmithKline France, Menarini France, ResMed, Löwenstein, Breas, Fisher & Paykel, ADEP, Isis, Orkyn, SOS oxygène, Air Liquide Santé International. Jesus Gonzalez-Bermejo reports personal fees for expert boards from Beas company and Lowenstein, and for teaching from Oxylis and Air Liquide. Thomas Similowski reports, personal fees for consulting and teaching activities from AstraZeneca France, Chiesi France, Hephaï, KPL consulting, Lungpacer Inc., OSO-AI, TEVA France, Vitalaire. He is a stock shareholder of startups Hephaï and Austral Dx. He is listed as inventor on issued patents (WO2008006963A3, WO2012004534A1, WO2013164462A1) describing EEG responses to experimental and clinical dyspnea.
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Straus et al. (2024) conducted a case-control in Severe COPD (n=35). Medical hypnosis vs. Matched historical controls was evaluated on Percentage change in 6-min walk distance (%6MWD) between the beginning and end of the rehabilitation program (p=0.029). Medical hypnosis significantly increased the 6-minute walk distance by 61.9% from baseline compared to 16.5% in matched historical controls among patients with severe COPD.
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