Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (
COPD) can lead to
respiratory failure, but current pharmacological treatments focus on symptom relief or slowing
disease progression. Here, the effectiveness of an alternative
therapy combining deep-
breathing exercises and
oxygen inhalation therapy was assessed in mild-to-moderate
COPD patients. Forty-two male mild-to-moderate
COPD patients were randomly divided into a deep-breathing training group, an
oxygen inhalation group, and a combination group (n=14 in each). In the deep-breathing training group, the patients were treated only by the deep-breathing exercise; in the
oxygen inhalation group, the patients were treated only by
oxygen inhalation; in the combination group, the patients were treated by combining the deep-
breathing exercises with
oxygen inhalation. Before treatment, there were no statistical differences in the general characteristics or lung function indexes between the three groups of patients (P > 0.05). However,
after treatment, patients in the combination group had significantly better lung function indexes than they did before treatment, and their improvement was also superior to that of patients from the deep-breathing training group and the
oxygen inhalation group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Thus, a treatment method combining deep-breathing exercise with
oxygen inhalation offers more significant lung function improvement in
COPD patients than either the deep-breathing exercise or
oxygen inhalation alone. This approach should be further explored for use in the clinic.