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G. Mitsikaris1, A. Stathopoulos2
1Self-employed, Athens, Greece, 2Self-employed, Aquila, Italy
Background: Patients with chronic respiratory problems often develop psychopathological disorders. The international literature confirms the benefits of physiotherapy in the improvement of various psychopathological manifestations.
Purpose: Investigation of the effect of physiotherapy on the psychopathological manifestations of patients during hospitalization due to exacerbation of their Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Methods: They were studied 184 people (107 male and 77 female), 35-80 years old, who came to the Emergency Department with severe dyspnea at rest.
All patients were diagnosed with COPD in the last 10 years (stage 1 according to GOLD) and the exacerbation was due to a microbial infection of the respiratory tract.
All subjects were hospitalized for 5 days and they had taken antibiotic therapy along with inhaled bronchodilators (β2 rapid-acting stimulants).
In 92 of them (60 males, 32 female) it was applied additionally a physiotherapy session once for all the days of their hospitalization (breathing training, drainage of bronchial secretions, respiratory muscle exercise programs, lung volume repair rehabilitation techniques with flow / volume training).
Functionality was assessed with a pulse oximeter (measurement of blood oxygen saturation / SpO2), according to guidelines on the 1st and last day of hospitalization.
The evaluation of anxiety manifestations & depression was evaluated with the self-evaluation questionnaires of Zung standardized in Greek, on the 1st and the last day of hospitalization. The questionnaires were administrated to the patients in digital form through the website www.psychosposis.eu.
Statistical analysis of the data was performed by paired samples t-test, with a significance level of 0.05.
All patients were diagnosed with COPD in the last 10 years (stage 1 according to GOLD) and the exacerbation was due to a microbial infection of the respiratory tract.
All subjects were hospitalized for 5 days and they had taken antibiotic therapy along with inhaled bronchodilators (β2 rapid-acting stimulants).
In 92 of them (60 males, 32 female) it was applied additionally a physiotherapy session once for all the days of their hospitalization (breathing training, drainage of bronchial secretions, respiratory muscle exercise programs, lung volume repair rehabilitation techniques with flow / volume training).
Functionality was assessed with a pulse oximeter (measurement of blood oxygen saturation / SpO2), according to guidelines on the 1st and last day of hospitalization.
The evaluation of anxiety manifestations & depression was evaluated with the self-evaluation questionnaires of Zung standardized in Greek, on the 1st and the last day of hospitalization. The questionnaires were administrated to the patients in digital form through the website www.psychosposis.eu.
Statistical analysis of the data was performed by paired samples t-test, with a significance level of 0.05.
Results: For both anxiety and depression, the mean score of the questionnaires improved statistically significantly (p <0.001). More specifically, the absolute differences between the 1st and last day of hospitalization were 10.91 and 9.04 points, for anxiety and depression, respectively.
The study of Partial Correlation showed that in the intervention group there was a statistically higher and faster response of blood oxygen saturation.
The study of Partial Correlation showed that in the intervention group there was a statistically higher and faster response of blood oxygen saturation.
Conclusion(s): From our study it seems that respiratory physiotherapy, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, during hospitalization due to exacerbation of the disease significantly improves the manifestations of anxiety and depression, as well as the total hospitalization time.
Implications: The research results show that in addition to the already known benefits of implementing a respiratory physiotherapy program in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease during their hospitalization, is particularly imperative too in those who have increased symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Funding, acknowledgements: There was no external funding.
The research complies with ethical principles and the global international standards
The research complies with ethical principles and the global international standards
Keywords: mental health, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, psychopathology
Topic: Mental health
Did this work require ethics approval? No
Institution: Evaggelismos hospital Athens Greece
Committee: Ethics committe Evaggelismos hospital
Reason: Individual capable of giving informed consent
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
