Effectiveness of Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise toward Degree of Breathlessness among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease at General Public Hospital in Indonesia: A Pilot Study

Objectives:  The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of diaphragmatic breathing exercises on the degree of breathlessness among patients with COPD in West Java, Indonesia.  Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design, a pre and post-test without control design. A total of 33 patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) were joined in this study selected using consecutive sampling. The Modified Medical Research Council was used to measure the degree of breathlessness. A portable spirometer was used to assess forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC). Results: The mean age was 44.5 years old (SD:3.17), 54.4% were male, with normal body mass index. About 42.4% of patients with COPD experienced the fourth degree of breathlessness before the intervention. There was a reduction mean score of breathlessness from 3.42 ± 0.53 to 1.64 ± 0.13 after intervention with p=0.001. There were improvement in the breathing frequency (11.8 ± 4.9 vs. 9.5 ± 1.6), oxygen saturation (93.39± 3.20 vs. 95.47± 4.21), FEV1/FVC (0.5 ± 0.12 vs. 0.3 ± 0.45). Conclusion: It is expected for the hospital, educational institutions, nurses and patients to be able to apply diaphragmatic breathing exercises as one form of nursing care measures as it is proven effective to reduce the degree of breathlessness.