Telerehabilitation in Patients With Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Diseases

The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of different exercise programs applied to 3 groups randomly formed in patients with fibrosing interstitial lung disease (FILD).

Secondary purpose: To determine the feasibility and effectiveness of telerehabilitation in FILD cases.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Telerehabilitation; Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Synchronized online telerehabilitation exercise program; Other: Videobased telerehabilitation exercise program; Other: Hospital based outpatient exercise program

Detailed Description

The cases meeting the inclusion criteria will be randomized and divided into three groups, the groups will be named as Telerehabilitation Exercise Group (TGr), Video Group (VGr) and Standard pulmonary rehabilitation group (SGr).TGr will be given online exercises, synchronized 2 days a week, and a home program for 1 day, accompanied by a physiotherapist, via videoconference on the group smartphone.After 1 session of online simultaneous exercise training in the company of a physiotherapist via a smart phone videoconference to the VGr group, an exercise video including the exercises will be sent to participants and the patients will be asked to do exercises 3 days a week. The participants will be asked to keep an exercise diary and the status of the diaries will be followed by phone call once a week.The SGr group will be applied the pulmonary rehabilitation program with supervision in the hospital 2 days a week, and participants will be asked to do exercises at home for 1 day. The exercise period will be 8 weeks for both groups.Details of the exercises to be applied to the cases are as follows: The exercise program includes aerobic, resistance exercises and breathing exercises.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 63
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Üsküdar
    • İstanbul, Üsküdar, Turkey, 34668
      • Esra Pehlivan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being between the ages of 18-75
• Have a diagnosis of fibrosing interstitial lung disease diagnosed according to the clinical diagnostic criteria of the American Thoracic and European Respiratory Societies (ATS-ERS).
• Presence of dyspnea on exertion Stable clinical state at the time of admission without infection or exacerbation in the previous 4 weeks
• Ability to use a smart phone

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with severe comorbid diseases, unstable coronary artery disease, collagen vascular diseases and needing high flow oxygen therapy (˃ 3-4 L \min).
• history of effort-related syncope or any comorbidity (such as severe orthopedic or neurological deficits or unstable heart disease) that precludes exercise training.
• Participating in a pulmonary rehabilitation program within the past 12 months.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Telerehabilitation Group (TG); TGr will be given online exercises, synchronized 2 days a week, and a home program for 1 day, accompanied by a physiotherapist, via videoconference on the group smartphone.	Other: Synchronized online telerehabilitation exercise program; Breathing exercises, inspiratory muscle training, peripheral muscle strengthening training and gait training will be applied to the patient by videoconference.
Experimental: Video Group (VGr); After 1 session of online simultaneous exercise training in the company of a physiotherapist via a smart phone videoconference to the VGr group, an exercise video including the exercises will be sent and the participants will be asked to do exercises 3 days a week. The cases will be asked to keep an exercise diary and the status of the diaries will be followed by calling once a week.	Other: Videobased telerehabilitation exercise program; A video containing breathing exercises, inspiratory muscle training, peripheral muscle strengthening training and gait training will be given to the patient and will be asked to exercise regularly.
Experimental: Standard pulmonary rehabilitation group (SGr); The SGr group will be applied the pulmonary rehabilitation program with supervision in the hospital 2 days a week, and participants will be asked to do exercises at home for 1 day. The exercise period will be 8 weeks for both groups.	Other: Hospital based outpatient exercise program; Breathing exercises, inspiratory muscle training, peripheral muscle strengthening training and gait training will be applied to the patient in the hospital..

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Exercise capacity	The 6-minute walking test will conduct in a 30-meter corridor in line with American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines. Participants will ask to walk as far as they can. Prior to and following the test, oxygen saturation, heart rate and Borg fatigue rating will measure, and the walking distance will record.	Change from baseline at 2 months
Dyspnea perception	modified Medical Council Dyspnea score will rate the sensation of dyspnea as the person perceives it.The severity of dyspnea is rated on a scale of 0 to 4."0 point" means no dyspnea perception and "4point" means severe dyspnea perception.	Change from baseline at 2 months
Fatigue severity	The fatigue severity scale: A 9-item questionnaire with questions related to how fatigue interferes with certain activities and rates its severity. The items are scored on a 7 point scale with 1 = strongly disagree and 7= strongly agree The minimum score = 9 and maximum score possible = 63. Higher the score = greater fatigue severity Another way of scoring: mean of all the scores with minimum score being 1 and maximum score being 7 Self-report scale	Change from baseline at 2 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Respiratory muscle strength	The mouth pressure measurement (maximum inspiratory and expiratory pressure) will perform with the Pony Fx spirometry device. Patient will place a rubber mouthpiece with flanges, on the device, exhale/inhale slowly and completely, and then will try to breath in as hard as possible. The patient will allow to rest for about a minute and the maneuver will repeat. The aim is that the variability between measurements is less than 10 cm H2O. The maximum value will obtain.	Change from baseline at 2 months
Physical activity level	The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was developed as an instrument for cross-national monitoring of physical activity and inactivity. This measure assesses the types of intensity of physical activity and sitting time that people do as part of daily lives are considered to estimate total physical activity in MET-min/week and time spent sitting.	Change from baseline at 2 months
Anxiety level	Hospital Anxiety Depression scale:The levels of anxiety will asses by Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) .The HADS is a self-report rating scale of 14 items on a 4-point Likert scale (range 0-3). It is designed to measure anxiety and depression (7 items for each subscale). The total score is the sum of the 14 items, and for each subscale the score is the sum of the respective seven items (ranging from 0-21).Several studies suggest a cut-off score of ≥8 to be optimal for best sensitivity and specificity. The HADS has sensitivity and specificity of about 80%, and a predictive validity for identification of about 70%.	Change from baseline at 2 months
Depression level	Hospital Anxiety Depression scale:The levels of depression will asses by Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) .The HADS is a self-report rating scale of 14 items on a 4-point Likert scale (range 0-3). It is designed to measure anxiety and depression (7 items for each subscale). The total score is the sum of the 14 items, and for each subscale the score is the sum of the respective seven items (ranging from 0-21).Several studies suggest a cut-off score of ≥8 to be optimal for best sensitivity and specificity. The HADS has sensitivity and specificity of about 80%, and a predictive validity for identification of about 70%.	Change from baseline at 2 months
Quality of life level	Saint George Respiratory Questionaire (SGRQ) score: The SGRQ ranges from 0 (no impairment of quality of life) to 100 (highest impairment of quality of life).	Change from baseline at 2 months
Pulmonary function tests (PFTs)	PFTs will perform by using the Pony Fx spirometry device, and according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines	Change from baseline at 2 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 22, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): May 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 8, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 8, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): December 21, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 22, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 18, 2025
• Last Verified: June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physiotherapy; pulmonary rehabilitation; telerehabilitation; fibrosing interstitial lung disease
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Lung Diseases, Interstitial
• Other Study ID Numbers: FLD_Tele

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No