Effects of speleotherapy in Çankırı Salt Cave and haloaeresoltherapy in the salt chamber on COPD and bronchial asthma patients: a preliminary experimental pilot study
Öz
Objective: The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of speleotherapy in the Çankırı Salt Cave and haloaerosoltherapy in a salt room on patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and bronchial asthma. Methods: A total of 33 individuals (14 participants in Group 1, 19 participants in Group 2) received speleotherapy in the cave and haloaerosoltherapy in an artificial salt chamber once daily for 15 days. Participants were evaluated before and after the intervention using the Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale, COPD Assessment Test (CAT), SF-12 Quality of Life Scale (SF-12 QoL), Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), Borg Dyspnea Scale (BDS), Pulmonary Function Tests (Spiriometry), and BODE Index. The significance levels of speleotherapy and haloaerosoltherapy interventions before and after were determined using non-parametric analyses based on pre-test and post-test means. Results: In both groups 1 and 2, a significant decrease was observed in mMRC dyspnea scale (p=.001, p=.000), CAT (p=.001, p=.001), and BODE index (p=.003, p=.004) scores compared to baseline values after the intervention. A significant increase was observed in SF-12 quality of life scale scores after the intervention (p=.002, p=.001 for PCS-12; p=.001, p=.004 for MCS-12). In 6MWT, a significant increase in walking distance was observed after the intervention (p=.003, p=.017). Conclusion: In patients with COPD and asthmatic bronchitis, the combination of speleotherapy and haloaerosoltherapy reduced shortness of breath, alleviated COPD symptoms such as cough, chest tightness, limited mobility, and difficulty sleeping as determined by the CAT scale, increased exercise capacity and walking distance, and improved quality of life.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Destekleyen Kurum
Etik Beyan
Teşekkür
Kaynakça
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Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Göğüs Hastalıkları
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yazarlar
Tahsin Barış Değer
*
Türkiye
Ali Özkurt
Türkiye
Tuba Öztürk Haliloğlu
Türkiye
İsmail Özcan
Türkiye
Yayımlanma Tarihi
28 Şubat 2026
Gönderilme Tarihi
2 Ocak 2026
Kabul Tarihi
23 Şubat 2026
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2026 Cilt: 3 Sayı: 1