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Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises for Post-COVID-19 Diaphragmatic Dysfunction (DD)

NCT06330376 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 16

Last updated 2026-01-08

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Diaphragm is the principal muscle of inspiration. Diaphragmatic dysfunction is seen in many conditions including following intubation, lung disease, prolonged ventilation, neuromuscular disease, phrenic nerve injury. The possible mechanisms of diaphragmatic dysfunction in patients with COVID19 are critical illness myopathy, ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction, iatrogenic phrenic nerve injury particularly secondary to line placement, post-infectious inflammatory neuropathy of the phrenic nerve, or possibly direct neuromuscular involvement of the SARS- CoV-2 virus given expression of the angiotensin- converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor in the peripheral nervous system and skeletal muscle. The use of diaphragmatic ultrasound has been widely used to assess diaphragmatic function is well known in patients following prolonged mechanical ventilation. Prolonged mechanical ventilation leads to contractile dysfunction of respiratory muscles, in particular the diaphragm, causing a so-called ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction. The latter is defined as a loss of diaphragm force-generating capacity specifically related to the use of mechanical ventilation. However, the use of diaphragmatic Ultrasound to assess its function in Long COVID patients has not been noted and is a gap in the work up of these patients.

The purpose of this study is to address Diaphragmatic Dysfunctional (DD) breathing seen in patients with Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), which results in shortness of breath/chest tightness and subsequent fatigue. Targeting shortness of breath and subsequent fatigue as a central symptom of PASC will alleviate long term sequelae for the patients with PASC. DD will be addressed by a unique intervention of physical therapy. The goal of this prospective randomized clinical study will be to evaluate the comparative treatment effect of DB on markers, specifically fatigue, dyspnea, 6 min walk test, depression/anxiety, and quality of life (QoL).

Conditions

  • Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19

Interventions

OTHER

Usual care of traditional treatment

Usual care of traditional treatment which is PT and/or OT when indicated Followed by Pulmonary rehabilitation when indicated

OTHER

Specific DB program/Diaphragmatic manipulation program

12 weeks of 2 sessions/week: one session will be remote and one in-person

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Farha Ikramuddin, MD · University of Minnesota

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-03-01
Primary Completion
2025-08-15
Completion
2025-08-15

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06330376 on ClinicalTrials.gov