The effect of aerobic exercises on antioxidant indices of pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Investigating the effect of aerobic exercises on antioxidant indices of pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

A double-blind, randomized, parallel-groups, controlled, phase 3 clinical trial in 126 patients. A table of random numbers was used for randomization.

The present study is a clinical trial on pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) referring to Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran. Patients are randomly divided into two groups. In the intervention group, patients perform physiotherapy exercises, including diaphragmatic breathing and lip bud breathing on the bed, as well as stretching and chest expansion exercises for a total of ten minutes. Then the patient went to the exercise room, and performed six minutes of aerobic exercise with an intensity equal to 60% of the walking test. In the control group, patients only perform physiotherapy exercises on the bed.

Inclusion criteria include age above 18 years, diagnosis of PH through echocardiography, PAP above 35, signing a written consent form to participate in the research project. Exclusion criteria include the patient's unwillingness to continue participating in the plan, active cancer, or any disorder preventing rehabilitation exercises.

In the intervention group, patients perform physiotherapy exercises on the bed, including diaphragmatic breathing and lip bud breathing, as well as aerobic exercise. In the control group, patients only perform physiotherapy exercises on the bed.

The distance of 6 minutes walking test; glutathione peroxidase (GPx); Catalase (CAT); total antioxidant capacity (TAC);Forced Expiratory Volume in First Second(FEV1)

For randomization, a simple randomization method is used with the help of a table of random numbers. For this purpose, two groups are named A and B. We choose one of the rows of the table of random numbers at will and the numbers of each row will be between 0 and 9. We assign numbers 0-4 to treatment A and numbers 5-9 to treatment B.

Clinical evaluations will be performed by blinded evaluators who are unaware of the interventions assigned to the participants. So that each evaluator receives codes for each patient that are related to training groups. Therefore, the type of grouping and the type of intervention cannot be identified by the clinical assessor.