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WithdrawnNCT03653104MELODYUpdated Mar 15, 2021

Melodica Orchestra for Dyspnea: Safety and Feasibility Pilot

An interventional study of Melodica Intervention and Pulmonary Health Education in COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Dyspnea, sponsored by VA Quality Enhancement Research Intiative. Withdrawn at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-03-15.

Sponsored by VA Quality Enhancement Research Intiative · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was withdrawn
Did not initiate study intervention.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
0
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This project seeks to pilot-test the feasibility of using a melodica training program to teach pursed lip breathing for Veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with moderate to severe dyspnea (shortness of breath). Dyspnea occurs commonly among COPD patients and can limit activities of daily living. Pursed lip breathing is a strategy that can improve dyspnea and exercise capacity among COPD patients. The melodica is a musical instrument that looks like a keyboard with a mouthpiece on the side. The melodica is played by exhaling through the mouthpiece while pressing the keys. The MELODY pilot project protocol has been grounded on concepts from occupational therapy; specifically, providing participants with a meaningful new activity that is enjoyable, that can be provided across a spectrum of skill levels, that can provide participants with a new sense of self, and that can improve health outcomes (i.e., dyspnea and exercise endurance).

Read the detailed description

SPECIFIC AIMS:

Primary Aim 1: Evaluate the safety of a melodica training program to teach pursed lip breathing among Veterans with COPD with moderate to severe dyspnea. We hypothesize that a melodica training program can be safely implemented among COPD patients with severe dyspnea.

Primary Aim 2: Evaluate the feasibility of implementing a melodica training program to teach pursed lip breathing among Veterans with COPD with dyspnea. We hypothesize that it will be feasible to implement a melodica training program to teach pursed lip breathing among Veterans with COPD and dyspnea; specifically that enrolled participants will attend >50% of sessions. We also hypothesize that transportation to the VA Medical Center to attend sessions will be identified as a significant barrier to participation.

Secondary Aim: Collect pilot-efficacy data of a melodica training program to teach pursed lip breathing among Veterans with COPD and dyspnea. The objective is to understand whether melodica training improves dyspnea both in the short-term and in the longer-term over the course of the 8-week training program. We hypothesize that a melodica training program will reduce dyspnea by 30% in the short-term and 10% in the long-term. We also hypothesize that intervention participants will show gains in the secondary efficacy outcome measures of exercise endurance, pulmonary function, entering pulmonary rehabilitation, quality of life, patient global impression of change, and anxiety relative to controls.

RANDOMIZATION AND INTERVENTION:

Randomization:

Participants will be randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to the intervention group (N=50), usual care control group (N=50), and education control group (N=50) using a block randomization design. We will also seek to identify N=30 Veterans who met the COPD diagnosis and spirometry eligibility criteria but who chose not to participate in the intervention; these Veterans will be invited to participate in a brief interview to identify barriers to participation.

Melodica Program Intervention:

The intervention program will include: education about pursed lip breathing, instruction in the melodica instrument, and participation in a melodica playing group which will meet twice-weekly for a 8-week period. Participants will be given instructional materials for use in practicing the instrument in their homes and encouragement to use pursed lip breathing not only while playing the instrument but also in their activities of daily living. Each session will last one hour in duration with approximately 20 minutes for instruction, 30 minutes in group music-making, and 10 minutes allocated for educational information about COPD, tobacco cessation, and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Education Group:

The patients in the education control group will receive the same educational materials that are provided to the intervention group; however, they will receive them in a single educational session. As described above, the educational materials include information about pursed lip breathing, COPD, medications used to treat COPD, how to use an inhaler, smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, exercise, and travelling with COPD. The materials include handouts as well as links to web pages.

02

Conditions studied

  • COPD
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  • Dyspnea
  • Breathlessness
  • Emphysema
  • Chronic Bronchitis

Keywords

  • Melodica
  • pursed lip breathing
  • breathing exercise
  • Music
03

In context

Bronchitis

268 studies on the registry are indexed under Bronchitis; 26 are open to participants now.

Browse Bronchitis studies →

Lead sponsor

VA Quality Enhancement Research Intiative is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • spirometry-confirmed COPD defined as a FEV1/FVC \<0.7
  • moderate or severe dyspnea defined as a grade ≥3 on the ATS Dyspnea scale

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • visual or hearing impairments
  • do not speak English
  • do not have an intact airway
  • have cognitive impairment
  • are unable to make a seal with their mouths
  • have a history of at least one hospital admission for congestive heart failure in the prior year
  • receiving Hospital-Based Home Care (HBHC) or Telehealth care for COPD management
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Melodica Intervention

    An 8-week group intervention including twice-weekly sessions. Each session will last one hour in duration with approximately 20 minutes for instruction, 30 minutes in group music-making, and 10 minutes allocated for educational information about COPD, tobacco cessation, and pulmonary rehabilitation.

    Behavioral: Melodica Intervention

  • Active comparator
    Education Control

    A single 90-120 minute education session including the same educational information about COPD, tobacco cessation, and pulmonary rehabilitation provided to the melodica intervention group.

    Behavioral: Pulmonary Health Education

  • No intervention
    Usual Care Control

    Usual care at Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center.

  • No intervention
    Interview Only

    Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with Veterans who meet eligibility criteria, but who do not agree to participate in the intervention, to identify potential barriers to participation

Interventions

  • BehavioralMelodica Intervention

    The melodica program will include education about pursed lip breathing, instruction in the melodica instrument, and participation in a melodica training group which meets twice-weekly for an 8-week period. Each session will include musical instruction, group music-making, and education about COPD and related health topics.

    Also known as: Melodica Training Program

  • BehavioralPulmonary Health Education

    A single session including education about COPD and related health topics.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Safety: Adverse Events

    We will describe the frequency with which patients reported any adverse events they experienced as a consequence of participation in the program as well as specify the types of adverse events.

    Time frame: Measured at baseline and before and after each of 16 program training sessions (8 week duration).

  2. Safety: Dyspnea Visual Analog Line

    We will measure dyspnea with a visual-analog line (100mm line with anchors at 0=no dyspnea, 100=severe dyspnea)

    Time frame: Baseline, before and after each training session (16 sessions over 8 weeks)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Feasibility: Program Participation

    Feasibility will be measured in terms of the proportion of eligible Veterans who agree to participate

    Time frame: Measured at baseline

  2. Feasibility: Attendance

    Feasibility will be measured in terms of the proportion of sessions that enrolled participants attend

    Time frame: Measured at every intervention session (total of 16 sessions over 8 weeks)

Other outcomes

  1. Pilot-Efficacy: Dyspnea Visual Analog Line

    We will measure dyspnea with a visual-analog line (100mm line with anchors at 0=no dyspnea, 100=severe dyspnea)

    Time frame: Baseline, before and after each intervention sessions (16 sessionis over 8 weeks).

  2. Secondary Efficacy: Quality of Life (SF-20)

    We will assess quality of life based on the 20-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-20)

    Time frame: Measured at baseline, 4-weeks, 8-weeks

  3. Secondary Efficacy: Exercise Endurance (6-Minute Walk)

    We will assess exercise endurance measured by the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT).

    Time frame: Measured at baseline, 4-weeks, 8-weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Veteran Health Indiana, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center
    Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • McGrath M, Smith J, Rattray NA, Lillie A, Crow S, Myers LJ, Myers J, Perkins AJ, Wasmuth S, Burns DS, Cheatham AJ, Patel H, Bravata DM. Teaching pursed-lip breathing through music: MELodica Orchestra for DYspnea (MELODY) trial rationale and protocol. Arts Health. 2022 Feb;14(1):49-65. doi: 10.1080/17533015.2020.1827277. Epub 2020 Oct 16. PubMed 33064621 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 15, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03653104
Lead sponsor
VA Quality Enhancement Research Intiative
Responsible party
Dawn M. Bravata (Professor of Medicine & Adjunct Professor of Neurology, VA Quality Enhancement Research Intiative) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 31, 2018
Start date
Jun 12, 2018
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2019
Completion
Dec 31, 2019
Last update
Mar 15, 2021

Study contacts

Dawn M Bravata, MD
principal investigator · VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is withdrawn, as verified in Sep 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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