OBJECTIVE

Lung cancer (LC) and surgery cause physical and psychological distress to patients. This study aimed to investigate the impact of loaded deep breathing training combined with the PERMA model (PERMA-LDBT) on physical and psychological symptoms, functional capacity, and quality of life (QoL) in patients undergoing LC surgery.

METHODS

A three-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted. Patients undergoing LC surgery were randomly assigned to the LDBT plus routine care (IG), PERMA-LDBT plus routine care (CIG), and the routine care (CG). Primary variables included exercise capacity (6MWD), dyspnea (mMRC), anxiety and depression (HADS), and quality of life (EORTC-QQL-C30). Secondary variables comprised adherence, postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), length of hospitalization, duration of postoperative thoracic drainage tube, and adverse events. Socio-demographic variables comprised age, gender, smoking status, BMI, comorbidity with COPD, pulmonary function, length of hospitalization, cancer stage, and lobectomy location. Data were collected at admission, the day before surgery, two days after surgery, and the day of discharge.

RESULTS

A total of 148 patients were recruited. Forty-six were excluded, and 102 patients were randomized into three groups of 34 each. Significant improvements in dyspnea, exercise capacity, anxiety, depression, and QoL were observed in both the CIG and IG compared to the CG. However, no statistically significant differences were found in PPCs, length of hospitalization, or postoperative chest drain retention time. The CIG demonstrated statistically significant improvements in adherence and anxiety levels compared to the IG.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence that PERMA-LDBT intervention can effectively improve perioperative outcomes in LC patients.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

(ChiCTR2400080214) and date of registration (2024-01-23) "retrospectively registration".