Efeitos do treinamento da musculatura inspiratória em pacientes com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica: revisão de literatura

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous, treatable, and preventable respiratory disease. However, once established, it cannot be cured. It is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow obstruction resulting from alveolar (emphysema) and/or airway (bronchitis and/or bronchiolitis) alterations. These alterations are commonly caused by several risk factors, the main one being smoking. As a pulmonary rehabilitation method, inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been widely used in the treatment of people with COPD. Its main objective is to increase inspiratory muscle strength. The effects of IMT in the management of individuals diagnosed with this disease need to be identified. Objective: To comprehensively review the effects of IMT in individuals with COPD. Method: This is na integrative literature review conducted in the SCIELO and PubMed databases. The descriptors used for the search followed the descriptions of the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)/Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS), namely: “Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive” and “Respiratory Muscle Training.” Furthermore, the search was completed through references in the articles, which also served as a source of new references. The inclusion criteria were randomized clinical trials published in the last tem years. Results: Seven studies were selected, highlighting that COPD patients showed significant and clinically relevant gains after completing the IMT protocol, such as improved inspiratory muscle strength, reduced self-reported dyspnea, improved exercise capacity and tolerance, improved balance, and improved quality of life in individuals with stable COPD, classified as moderate to severe. Conclusion: IMT is a viable and important approach for COPD patients, capable of promoting significant improvements in inspiratory muscle strength and functional capacity. However, due to the heterogeneity of the devices used to perform IMT, it is difficult to establish na ideal protocol for patients with stable COPD.