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Randomized trial of yoga as a complementary therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis
Author(s) -
Visweswaraiah Naveen K.,
Telles Shirley
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
respirology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1440-1843
pISSN - 1323-7799
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1843.2003.00528.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sputum , tuberculosis , pulmonary tuberculosis , randomized controlled trial , sputum culture , physical therapy , gastroenterology , surgery , pathology
Objective: The present prospective, randomized trial compared the efficacy of anti‐tuberculosis treatment (ATT) with two separate programs (yoga and breath awareness), on lung capacities and bacteriological status in pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Methodology: A total of 1009 pulmonary tuberculosis patients were screened and 73 were alternately allocated, to yoga ( n = 36) or breath awareness ( n = 37) groups, with 48 patients completing the 2‐month trial. Patients aged between 20 and 55 years, who were sputum‐positive on three consecutive examinations, had no prior ATT, and no comorbidities or extrapulmonary tuberculosis were included. In addition to ATT, one group practised yoga ( n = 25) and the other practised breath awareness ( n = 23) for 6 h per week, each session being 60 min. The main outcome measures were: symptom scores, bodyweight, FVC, FEV 1 , FEV 1 /FVC%, sputum microscopy, sputum culture, and postero‐anterior view of the CXR. Results: At the end of 2 months, the yoga group showed a significant reduction in symptom scores (88.1%), and an increase in weight (10.9%), FVC (64.7%) and FEV 1 (83.6%) ( P = 0.001, in all comparisons, paired t ‐test). The breath awareness group also showed a significant (paired t ‐test) reduction in symptom scores (16.3%, P = 0.02), and an increase in weight (2.1%, P = 0.003) and FEV 1 (63.8%, P = 0.04). Significantly more patients in the yoga group showed sputum conversion based on microscopy on days 30 and 45 compared to the breath awareness group ( P = 0.045 and P = 0.002, respectively, χ 2 test). Ten of 13 in the yoga group had negative sputum culture after 60 days compared with four of 19 in the breath awareness group ( P = 0.005, χ 2 test). Improvement in the radiographic picture occurred in 16/25 in the yoga group compared to 3/22 in the breath awareness group on day 60 ( P = 0.001, χ 2 test). Conclusions: The improved level of infection, radiographic picture, FVC, weight gain and reduced symptoms in the yoga group suggest a complementary role for yoga in the management of pulmonary tuberculosis.