SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Effects of inspiratory muscle training on inspiratory muscle strength and exercise tolerance in patients with COPD: a meta-analysis and systematic review.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
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0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: To systematically evaluate the effects of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on inspiratory muscle strength, exercise tolerance, and dyspnea in patients with COPD, including both stable and post-AECOPD rehabilitation-phase participants, and to explore the moderating role of comparator type on treatment efficacy. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus from inception to March 1, 2026. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving adults with stable COPD were included. The primary outcomes were PImax, 6MWD, and dyspnea (SMD). A random-effects model was used to pool effect sizes, and subgroup analyses, sensitivity analyses, and meta-regression were performed. Results: Thirteen RCTs ( Conclusion: IMT can significantly enhance inspiratory muscle strength and improve exercise tolerance, but its incremental benefit is highly dependent on the comparator type. The effect is more evident in non-pulmonary rehabilitation control settings, whereas additional benefit is limited in patients who have already undergone comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation. IMT is more suitable for stable COPD patients who cannot tolerate standard pulmonary rehabilitation. Future high-quality, longer-term head-to-head studies are needed to determine the optimal strategies for different training modalities. Systematic review registration: https://doi.org/10.37766/inplasy2026.5.0046, identifier (INPLASY202650046).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.