UMIN-ICDS Clinical Trial

Public title

Breathing technique interventions alone for dyspnea in adult patients with chronic lung disease: a scoping review

Acronym

Breathing techniques for dyspnea in chronic lung disease

Scientific Title

A scoping review of populations, intervention characteristics, outcomes, and study designs of breathing technique interventions alone for dyspnea in adult patients with chronic lung disease

Scientific Title:Acronym

Breathing techniques for dyspnea in chronic lung disease

Region

Japan

Condition

Chronic lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis

Classification by specialty

Pneumology	Nursing	Not applicable
Adult

Classification by malignancy

Others

Genomic information

NO

Narrative objectives1

This scoping review aims to map the existing literature on breathing technique interventions alone for dyspnea in adult patients with chronic lung disease. The review will summarize the populations, target diseases, intervention characteristics, intervention duration, settings, study designs, dyspnea-related outcomes, and reported findings. Eligible breathing techniques include pursed-lip breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, deep breathing exercises, breathing control, mindful breathing, and other interventions primarily based on breathing techniques. This review will identify the characteristics of existing studies and evidence gaps to inform future research.

Basic objectives2

Others

Basic objectives -Others

To map the scope, characteristics, outcomes, and evidence gaps of studies on breathing technique interventions alone for dyspnea in patients with chronic lung disease.

Trial characteristics_1

Trial characteristics_2

Developmental phase

Primary outcomes

The primary outcome of this scoping review will be the specific procedures of breathing technique interventions alone. Extracted information will include the name of the breathing technique, definition of the technique, description of the breathing method, posture during practice, duration per session, frequency, intervention period, instructor, method of instruction, whether the technique was self-administered, relationship with usual care, and information relevant to intervention reproducibility.

Key secondary outcomes

The secondary outcomes of this scoping review will be the basic characteristics of included studies, participant and disease characteristics, types and timing of dyspnea-related outcome measures, reported findings, safety, and feasibility. Extracted information will include authors, publication year, country, study design, setting, target disease, age and disease severity of participants, sample size, comparator, dyspnea measurement tools, timing of assessment, dyspnea-related findings, adverse events, adherence, dropout rates, and implementation-related issues.

Study type

Others,meta-analysis etc

Basic design

Randomization

Randomization unit

Blinding

Control

Stratification

Dynamic allocation

Institution consideration

Blocking

Concealment

No. of arms

Purpose of intervention

Type of intervention

Interventions/Control_1

Interventions/Control_2

Interventions/Control_3

Interventions/Control_4

Interventions/Control_5

Interventions/Control_6

Interventions/Control_7

Interventions/Control_8

Interventions/Control_9

Interventions/Control_10

Age-lower limit

18

years-old

<=

Age-upper limit

Not applicable

Gender

Male and Female

Key inclusion criteria

1. Population

Studies involving adult patients with chronic lung disease will be included.
Eligible diseases include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease, and pulmonary fibrosis. Participants must be aged 18 years or older.

2. Concept: Intervention

This review will include breathing technique interventions alone that aim to relieve dyspnea.

Eligible interventions include, but are not limited to:

pursed-lip breathing
diaphragmatic breathing
abdominal breathing
deep breathing exercises
breathing control
mindful breathing
other interventions primarily based on breathing techniques

There will be no restrictions on intervention duration. Single-session, short-term, and long-term interventions will all be included.

Studies in which breathing techniques are provided in addition to usual care will also be included.

3. Context

There will be no restrictions on the setting.

Studies conducted in hospitals, outpatient clinics, home settings, rehabilitation facilities, community settings, or other settings will be included.

4. Study Design

Intervention studies will be included.

Eligible study designs include:

randomized controlled trials
crossover trials
quasi-experimental studies
pre-post studies
single-arm intervention studies
5. Outcomes

Studies that include an assessment of dyspnea will be included.

Eligible outcome measures include, but are not limited to:

Borg scale
modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (mMRC)
Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)
Baseline Dyspnea Index/Transition Dyspnea Index (BDI/TDI)
University of California, San Diego Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (UCSD SOBQ)

Quality-of-life measures will also be included if they contain dyspnea-related items or subscales.

6. Language and Publication Type

Original articles published in English or Japanese will be included.

Key exclusion criteria

1. Ineligible diseases or populations
Studies targeting patients with acute respiratory failure, postoperative patients, patients receiving mechanical ventilation, or healthy participants only will be excluded.
2. Studies targeting diseases other than chronic lung disease
Studies primarily targeting diseases other than chronic lung disease will be excluded. Studies targeting patients with cancer will also be excluded.
3. Studies in which the intervention is not a breathing technique alone
Studies evaluating multicomponent interventions that combine breathing techniques with other components will be excluded. Examples include interventions combined with exercise therapy, muscle strengthening, inspiratory muscle training, yoga as a whole program, tai chi, singing, psychological therapy, educational programs, inhaler instruction, or telerehabilitation.
However, studies in which breathing techniques are provided in addition to usual care will be included.
4. Studies without dyspnea-related outcomes
Studies that do not assess dyspnea-related outcomes will be excluded. For example, studies evaluating only pulmonary function, SpO2, exercise tolerance, or respiratory muscle activity without assessing dyspnea will be excluded.
5. Ineligible study designs or publication types
Reviews, protocols, case reports, case series, qualitative studies, observational studies, cross-sectional studies, commentaries, and conference abstracts without full-text articles will be excluded.

Target sample size

Name of lead principal investigator

1st name	Yohei
Middle name
Last name	Kishi

Organization

Mie University

Division name

Graduate School of Medicine

Zip code

5148507

Address

2-174 Edobashi, Tsu

TEL

08034330840

Email

326D103@m.mie-u.ac.jp

Name of contact person

1st name	Yohei
Middle name
Last name	Kishi

Organization

Mie University

Division name

Graduate School of Medicine

Zip code

5148507

Address

2-174 Edobashi, Tsu

TEL

08034330840

Homepage URL

Email

326D103@m.mie-u.ac.jp

Institute

Mie University

Institute

Department

Personal name

Organization

none

Organization

Division

Category of Funding Organization

Self funding

Nationality of Funding Organization

Co-sponsor

Name of secondary funder(s)

Organization

N/A

Address

N/A

Tel

N/A

Email

N/A

Secondary IDs

NO

Study ID_1

Org. issuing International ID_1

Study ID_2

Org. issuing International ID_2

IND to MHLW

Institutions

Date of disclosure of the study information

2026

Year

05

Month

22

Day

URL releasing protocol

Publication of results

Unpublished

URL related to results and publications

Number of participants that the trial has enrolled

Results

Results date posted

Results Delayed

Results Delay Reason

Date of the first journal publication of results

Baseline Characteristics

Participant flow

Adverse events

Outcome measures

Plan to share IPD

IPD sharing Plan description

Recruitment status

Preinitiation

Date of protocol fixation

2026

Year

05

Month

22

Day

Date of IRB

Anticipated trial start date

2026

Year

05

Month

15

Day

Last follow-up date

2027

Year

05

Month

22

Day

Date of closure to data entry

Date trial data considered complete

Date analysis concluded

Other related information

A comprehensive literature search will be conducted to clarify the definitions and procedures of breathing technique interventions alone for dyspnea in adult patients with chronic lung disease. The electronic databases to be searched will include MEDLINE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and Ichushi-Web. The search will cover articles published from the inception of each database to the date of the search.

Search terms will include "chronic lung disease," "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease," "COPD," "interstitial lung disease," "pulmonary fibrosis," "dyspnea," "breathing technique," "breathing exercise," "pursed-lip breathing," "diaphragmatic breathing," "abdominal breathing," "deep breathing," "breathing control," and "mindful breathing."

Two researchers will independently screen the retrieved records based on the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. In the first screening stage, titles and abstracts will be reviewed to assess eligibility. In the second screening stage, the full texts of potentially eligible articles will be reviewed to determine the final inclusion of studies.

If there are discrepancies between the two researchers during the screening process, the decision will be made through discussion. If agreement cannot be reached, a third researcher will be consulted to determine final eligibility.

Registered date

2026

Year

05

Month

22

Day

Last modified on

2026

Year

05

Month

22

Day

Link to view the page

Value
https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/icdr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000070555