Mayer AF, et al. – A contemplation was pursued of the effects of acute pursed–lips breathing (PLB) use in exercise performance, dyspnea, ventilatory parameters and oxygen saturation during exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The findings disclosed that PLB was effective in reducing minute ventilation and respiratory rate during exercise in the study cohort. The responders to PLB and the advantages of its use remained unclear. In order to comprehend the implications of its utility on the functional capacity and symptoms of such patients, advanced research was warranted.

Methods

• Data was yielded from the PEDro, EMBASE, MEDLINE via OVID, and EBSCO up to May 2016.
• The trials included were crossover, randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials that studied PLB as a ventilatory strategy for patients with COPD during exercise.
• Data extraction comprised of background characteristics of the research reports; participant characteristics; description of the analyzed variables and corresponding instruments; exercise protocol; exercise performance; outcomes and corresponding results; data for “responder” and “non-responder” outcomes.

Results

• 8 studies were selected.
• The utility of PLB during exercise reduced minute ventilation and respiratory rate than the exercise without PLB.
• There were no statistically marked variations in the 6-minute walk test distance.