Outcomes of Breathing Exercises for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients

Background Tuberculosis is one of the top ten causes of death globally. Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is an infection that results in extensive pulmonary fibrosis and cavitation. Materials and methods A quasi-experimental study using non-equivalent control group pre-test-post-test design was conducted on 70 PTB patients (35 in comparison group and 35 in experimental group) admitted to MMIMS and R hospital Mullana, Ambala, Haryana. The dependent variables were physiological variables (dyspnea, SpO 2 , BP, heart rate, respiratory rate) and psychological variables (anxiety, quality of life). In the experimental group, breathing exercises were administered by the researcher, and in the comparison group, no intervention was given. Results On day 6, the difference in dyspnea, SpO 2 , HR, RR, Anxiety and Quality of Life score was statistically significant, but the difference in SBP and DBP score was statistically not significant. On Day 6 and Day 30, the mean dyspnea score and anxiety score of the experimental group were significantly lower than the comparison group. The quality of life of patients in the experimental group was significantly better than the comparison group on day 6 and day 30. Conclusion It can be concluded that the breathing exercises are effective in reducing dyspnea, heart rate, respiratory rate, and anxiety. Breathing exercises are effective in increasing the SpO 2 level and improving the QOL among PTB.