Statistical analysis
SPSS software version 22 was used for data analysis. Mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage were used to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics. At the baseline, the homogeneity of characteristics of the intervention and control group was assessed by chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and independent t-test. Also, repeated measure ANOVA and ANCOVA tests were used to compare the two groups in repeated measures in PAC-SYM and PAC-QOL. The data were analyzed using an intention-to-treat (IIT) method and missing data was estimated by EM (Expectation Maximization) algorithm. For each group, 30 participants were included in each analysis. The data were analyzed at the significance level of 0.05.