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Evaluation of the Benefits of Hypnosis in Improving the Quality of Life of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Suffering From Persistent Dyspnea

NCT07637604 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 154

Last updated 2026-06-10

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Chronic Obstructive pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a common progressive disorder characterized by persistent airflow limitation. It is usually caused by exposure to tobacco smoke, toxic particles, or toxic gases. COPD is characterized by cough, sputum production, and dyspnea, which is the cardinal symptom and is included in the criteria for severity. Dyspnea is a major source of suffering and disability, especially when it persists at rest.

Despite proper medical treatment, many patients continue to suffer from persistent dyspnea that significantly impairs their daily functioning and quality of life. Complementary approaches such as yoga and relaxation techniques are therefore recommended by some experts. Hypnosis is one of these practices. It has been shown to be effective in the management of both acute and chronic pain and it can abolish several types of experimentally induced dyspnea in healthy volunteers. In adults with COPD, a single hypnosis session has been shown to reduce anxiety immediately, though only temporarily. However, according to a recent retrospective study, a median of three hypnosis sessions increases the distance covered in the 6-minute walk test in COPD patients.

The investigators therefore hypothesize that several hypnosis sessions will improve the quality of life of adult outpatients with COPD who suffer from persistent dyspnea. The study plans to recruit 154 patients with severe dyspnea (mMRC(modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale) 3 or 4). They will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. Patients in the experimental group will participate in 5 sessions of medical hypnosis spaced 7 ± 2 days apart. The first hypnosis session will take place at the end of the enrollment visit. The final session will be held via teleconsultation. Four standardized telephone calls, spaced 7 ± 2 days apart, will replace the hypnosis sessions in the control group. The primary outcome of the study will be the evolution of quality of life, assessed 6 weeks after the start of the study as compared to baseline. Secondary outcomes will focus on changes in exercise capacity, dyspnea, anxiety, depression, dyspnea-related catastrophizing, self-efficacy, and pleasure in life.

Conditions

  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
  • Dyspnea

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Hypnosis

Five medical hypnosis sessions, each scheduled 7 ± 2 days apart

OTHER

standardized telephone calls

Four standardized telephone calls, made at 7 ± 2 day intervals

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Christian STRAUS, MD,PHD · Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-09-01
Primary Completion
2029-10-01
Completion
2029-12-15

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

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 NCT07637604 on ClinicalTrials.gov