The effect of breath training on arterial O2 sat and respiratory rhythms in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases

breathing is a vital process in living creatures, which let the oxygen in and CO2 out of the body. The process is disturbed in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Breathing maneuvers are the most important methods in minimizing breathing disturbances. This study was conducted to assess the effect of breath training as a respiratory maneuver on O2 saturation and respiratory patterns in COPD patient in medical wards of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan City. This is a quasi-experimental research, in which the effect of breath-training on O2 saturation (O2Sat) and respiratory patterns was evaluated in 60 COPD patients. The accessible samples were entered into this study. The demographic variables, like age, sex, and respiratory rate (RR) and rhythm were recorded before educating the patients. By means of pulse oximeter, the O2 saturation was measured before and after instructing the patients. The patients were requested to breath with puckered lips for 10 minutes and O2 saturation and respiratory rhythm were assessed immediately after and also in 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 60 minutes following puckered lip breathing. Non-parametric tests like Wilcoxon matched pairs and Macnemar tests were used for data analysis. 43.3% of the patient were farmers and 30% were working in textile industries. 56.3% of the patients were smokers. The mean values of O2Sat were 87.4% and 93% before and immediately after training; and the amount of O2Sat was significantly higher at all intervals except in the 5th minute after exercise (p<0/001). The decrease in RR was 27.7% immediately after exercise and maximal decrease was encountered in the 5th minute after rehearsal. But RR gradually increased to pre-training rate. Respiratory rhythm did not show any significant change due to the breath exercise. We concluded that breath exerxises such as puckered lip breathing led to an increase in O2 saturation, deep breathing patterns and finally improvement of lung function. So, breath training should be included in respiratory physiotherapy programs for COPD patients to increase their quality of life.