Symptom reduction in kidney transplant patients from 20-minute mindful breathing: a randomized controlled trial.
Kai Wei Lim, Kok Peng Ng, Shok Hoon Ooi, Wei San Siow, Seng Beng Tan
BMC nephrology April 16, 2025 DOI: 10.1186/s12882-024-03820-7 via PubMed
Summary
A 20-minute session of mindful breathing rapidly reduces multiple symptoms in kidney transplant recipients. Patients who practiced mindful breathing showed a significantly greater decrease in symptom scores compared to a control group, with an average reduction of nearly 5 points on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. The findings suggest that a brief mindfulness exercise can provide quick symptom relief for this population.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 60 |
| Population | Adult kidney transplant patients with at least one symptom scoring ≥ 4/10 on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Kidney transplant Mindful breathing Symptoms reduction |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key finding | A single 20-minute session of mindful breathing significantly reduced total symptom scores in kidney transplant recipients compared to a control group. |
Abstract
Many kidney transplant recipients continue to be affected by multiple symptoms even after their transplant. Mindfulness may be helpful to alleviate some of the symptoms. Our current study aimed to determine the efficacy of a single session of 20-minute mindful breathing in alleviating multiple symptoms in kidney transplant patients. Adult kidney transplant patients with at least one symptom scoring ≥ 4/10 based on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) were recruited from November 2020 to May 2021. Participants were randomly assigned to either 20-minute mindful breathing or control. Sixty participants were recruited and randomly assigned to intervention (N = 30) or control (N = 30). There was statistically significant greater reduction of the total ESAS score in the intervention group compared with the control group (mean difference = -4.833, confidence interval = -7.837, -1.830, t = -3.251, p = 0002). Our results provided evidence that 20-minute mindful breathing could reduce multiple symptoms rapidly in kidney transplant recipients.