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Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Breathing Control Technique on Long COVID Symptoms at the Reunion University Hospital

Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Breathing Control Technique on Long COVID Symptoms at the Reunion University Hospital

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05851859
Acronym
COCO-Long'Run
Enrollment
200
Registered
2023-05-10
Start date
2025-05-05
Completion date
2027-04-01
Last updated
2026-09-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Long COVID

Brief summary

Despite the controversy, on October 6, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Long Coronavirus disease (COVID) by officially defining it: " symptoms appeared 3 months after the onset of the primary infection by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), persisting for at least 2 months and which cannot be explained by any other condition ". Long COVID can affects any type of patient and has polymorphic and fluctuating symptoms over time. The Reunion Island is a French overseas department located in the Indian Ocean accounting more than 860,000 inhabitants. It has recorded since March 11, 2020, nearly 491,825 cases of COVID-19 and 961 deaths of hospitalized patients. Reunion's population is multi-ethnic and younger than the metropolitan France's one. It also has a higher prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, two serious form factors of COVID-19. This specific context makes this island a particular study site for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Long COVID. In addition, some studies have confirmed the involvement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the symptomatology of Long COVID and demonstrated that patients with a Long COVID present a dysfunction of their ANS which is objectified by a reduced Heart Rate Variability (HRV). The regulation of heart rate by the ANS is strongly favored by respiration. A regular slow and deep breathing training helps to adjust the baroreflex, which connect heart rate, breathing and blood pressure. The result of this training is an induced state called "cardiac coherence" (CC). The investigator therefore hypothesize that respiratory training to CC could "re-educate" the ANS and durably improve the symptomatology of patients with Long COVID.

Interventions

Use of Cardiac coherence (complementary respiratory training) during 6 month

Sponsors

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Réunion
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients over the age of 18, * living in Reunion and * having a diagnosis of Long COVID according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition will be included in this study. * These patients must attest to their primary infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and present a negative antigen test at the time of inclusion.

Exclusion criteria

Patients: * with a chronic or disabling respiratory pathology preventing respiratory training (asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), active tuberculosis, pulmonary sequelae of COVID-19, etc.) practicing or having practiced a regular respiratory control technique (yoga, Cardiac coherence training, etc.) in the last 6 months * taking a beta-blocker, betamimetic, anti-arrhythmic, morphine, antidepressant treatment (Escitalopram) * having a pacemaker or severe heart disease * Current and known pregnancy or breastfeeding woman * with a cognitive deficit * under guardianship/curators or under judicial protection

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a respiratory training to cardiac coherence on the reduction in the symptomatology of patients with Long COVID.6 monthsmean score on the Long COVID Symptom Tool (ST) scale Score 0 to 53 / Higher score mean worse outcome

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a respiratory training to cardiac coherence on the decrease of overall symptoms over timeT0, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 monthsLong COVID Symptom Tool (ST) scale Score 0 to 53 / Higher score mean worse outcome
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a respiratory training to cardiac coherence on the decrease of specifics symptoms : fatigue3 months, 6 monthsThe 11-item Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS-11) score 0 to 11 / Higher score mean worse outcome
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a respiratory training to cardiac coherence on the decrease of specifics symptoms : dyspnoea3 months, 6 monthsModified Medical Research Council (MMRC) dyspnoea scale score 0 to 5 / Higher score mean worse outcome
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a respiratory training to cardiac coherence on the decrease of specifics symptoms : Anxiety and Depression3 months, 6 monthsHospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) Score 0 to 42 / Higher score mean worse outcome
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a respiratory training to cardiac coherence on the decrease of specifics symptoms : cognitive disorders3 months, 6 monthsMontreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Score 0 to 30 / Higher score mean better outcome
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a respiratory training to cardiac coherence on the decrease of specifics symptoms : Post Traumatic Stress Disorder3 months, 6 monthsPosttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, version 5 (PCL-5) Score 0 to 80 / Higher score mean worse outcome
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a respiratory training to CC on the impact of the disease on daily lifeT0, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 monthsLong COVID Impact Tool (IT) scale Score 0 to 60 / Higher score mean worse outcome

Countries

France

Contacts

CONTACTLéa BRUNEAU
lea.bruneau@chu-reunion.fr02 62 90 68 83

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Sep 15, 2026