Evaluation of the Benefits of Hypnosis in Improving the Quality of Life of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Suffering From Persistent Dyspnea

The study aims at assessing the effect of medical hypnosis on the quality of life ofdyspneic COPD outpatients. It plans to recruit 154 COPD outpatients with severe dyspnea(mMRC 3 or 4). They will have to be treated in accordance with the GOLD (GlobalInitiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) 2024 guidelines, exept for pulmonaryrehabilitation that is not required. Inclusion and non‐inclusion criteria are providedbelow. Patients will be randomly assigned to either the experimental or the controlgroup. Patients in the experimental group will participate in 5 sessions of medicalhypnosis spaced 7 ± 2 days apart. The first hypnosis session will take place at the endof the enrollment visit. The final session will be held via teleconsultation. Fourstandardized telephone calls, spaced 7 ± 2 days apart, will replace the hypnosis sessionsin the control group. The objectives of the study will be assessed 6 weeks afterenrollment. The primary objective of this study will be to evaluate the benefit ofhypnosis in improving the quality of life of outpatients with COPD and persistentdyspnea, compared to a control group that will receive support through standardizedtelephone calls but no hypnosis.The primary outcome will be the change in the total score of the St George's RespiratoryQuestionnaire (SGRQ) which assesses respiratory related quality of life, measured 6 weeksafter randomization.The secondary objectives of the study will be to evaluate the benefit of hypnosis inpatients with COPD and persistent dyspnea compared to the control group on the followingoutcomes: 1. The components of quality of life in COPD: symptoms, activity, and impact on dailylife. Those components are part of the SGRQ. 2. The ability to engage in physical activity. It will will be assessed with the 6‐minwalk test. 3. Dyspnea and its affective, sensory, and emotional dimensions. They will be assessedusing the multidimensional dypnea profile (MDP) questionnaire. d) Dyspnea inactivities of daily living. It will be assessed using the London Chest Activity ofDaily Living (LCADL) scale.e) The level of anxiety. It will be assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and DepressionScale (HADS).f) The level of depression. It will also be assessed using the Hospital Anxiety andDepression Scale (HADS).g) The level of catastrophizing about dyspnea. It will be assessed using thebreathlessness catastrophizing scale for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.h) The level of self‐efficacy. It will be assessed using the COPD Self‐Efficacy Scale.i) The level of pleasure (or the level of anhedonia). It will be assessed using theSnaith‐Hamilton Pleasure Scale.