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NCT05851859Recruiting

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

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 14 Sept 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

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.

Status (registry)
Recruiting
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
200 (estimated)
First submitted
4 May 2023
Start date
5 May 2025
Primary completion date
Nov 2026
Lead sponsor
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Réunion
NCT number
NCT05851859

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional
  • Planned participants: 200
  • From 5 May 2025 to the primary completion date, Nov 2026
  • 2 sites in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Other illness

  • 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
  • having a pacemaker or severe heart disease

Other

  • Patients:
  • taking a beta-blocker, betamimetic, anti-arrhythmic, morphine, antidepressant treatment (Escitalopram)
  • Current and known pregnancy or breastfeeding woman
  • with a cognitive deficit
  • under guardianship/curators or under judicial protection

Who the study is looking for

  • 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.

Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (2)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
CHU de la Réunion
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
Saint-DenisFranceRecruiting
CHU de la Réunion
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
Saint-PierreFranceNot yet recruiting

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.