Multimodal Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis (PuRe-axSpA)

February 23, 2026 updated by: Ender Salbaş, Balikesir University

Multimodal Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis: A Prospective Pilot Study Addressing Mechanical Restriction and Functional Capacity

This prospective pilot study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a structured 8-week multimodal pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program specifically designed for patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA). The study assesses the impact of a composite intervention incorporating aerobic conditioning, resistance training, flexibility protocols, and targeted diaphragmatic breathing on functional exercise capacity, dyspnea severity, and pulmonary function.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
20

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Balıkesir, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Balikesir University Faculty of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age between 18 and 75 years.
  • Diagnosis of radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) confirmed according to the Modified New York Criteria.
  • Clinical stability without acute flares or escalation of systemic therapy in the preceding 3 months.
  • Ability to perform spirometry and ambulate safely.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Primary respiratory disorders (e.g., COPD and interstitial lung disease) acting as the primary cause of limitation.
  • Significant cardiovascular contraindications to exercise.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Participation in a structured rehabilitation program within the last 3 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Multimodal Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) receiving an 8-week structured multimodal pulmonary rehabilitation program.
Behavioral: Multimodal Pulmonary Rehabilitation
An 8-week structured exercise program consisting of three sessions per week (two supervised hospital-based sessions and one structured home-based session). The intervention integrates aerobic conditioning using a treadmill and arm ergometer, resistance and mobility training targeting spinal extension, and specific respiratory muscle training including diaphragmatic and pursed-lip breathing maneuvers.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in 6-Minute Walk Distance (6MWD)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8
Functional exercise capacity is measured by the total distance walked in 6 minutes, recorded in meters. Higher values indicate better functional exercise capacity (better outcome).
Baseline and Week 8

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Forced Vital Capacity (FVC)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8
Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) is measured via spirometry and expressed as a percentage of the predicted value. Higher percentages indicate better pulmonary volume and respiratory function (better outcome).
Baseline and Week 8
Change in Borg Dyspnea Scale
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8
The Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale is used to assess exertional breathlessness. The scale ranges from a minimum of 0 (no dyspnea at all) to a maximum of 10 (maximal dyspnea). Higher scores indicate more severe breathlessness (worse outcome).
Baseline and Week 8
Change in BASFI Score
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8
The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) assesses the degree of functional limitation in daily activities. The scale ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 10. Higher scores indicate greater functional impairment and disability (worse outcome).
Baseline and Week 8
Change in SF-36 Mental Health Score
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8
The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) is a health-related quality of life questionnaire. The Mental Health domain is scored from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100. Higher scores indicate a more favorable mental health state and better well-being (better outcome).
Baseline and Week 8

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Balikesir University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 30, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 30, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 18, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 23, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • BAP-2018-076
  • 2019/86 (Other Identifier: Clinical Research Ethics Committee)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified data and the analysis code are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings