Impaired airway clearance leads to recurrent chest infections and respiratory deterioration in neuromuscular weakness. It is frequently the cause of death. Cough is the major mechanism of airway clearance. Cough has several components, and assessment tools are available to measure the different components of cough. These include measuring peak cough flow, respiratory muscle strength, and inspir...

OBJECTIVES To describe the current use of airway clearance techniques among people with cystic fibrosis (CF) in the UK, and the baseline characteristics for users of different airway clearance techniques. DESIGN Analysis of the UK CF Registry 2011 data. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS All people with CF in the UK aged ≥11 years (n=6372). RESULTS Of the 6372 people on the UK CF registry in 2011, ...

Traditional airway maintenance and clearance therapy and principles of application are similar for neonates, children, and adults. Yet there are distinct differences in physiology and pathology between children and adults that limit the routine application of adult-derived airway-clearance techniques in children. This paper focuses on airway-clearance techniques and airway maintenance in the p...

QUESTION Does the timing of inhalation of dornase alpha in relation to physical airway clearance techniques influence the effect of the entire airway clearance regimen?. DESIGN A randomised crossover trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis and blinding of patients, therapists, and assessors. PARTICIPANTS Twenty adults with cystic fibrosis who were not taking dornase alp...

The rationale for airway clearance therapy and basic principles of its application are identical for children and adults, but there are important differences in physiology (regarding airway mucus characteristics and airway mechanics) and pathological processes in children, as well as other considerations unique to the pediatric population. The major obstacle in reviewing the evidence for effica...

Airway clearance techniques, historically referred to as chest physical therapy, have traditionally consisted of a variety of breathing maneuvers or exercises and manual percussion and postural drainage. The methods and types of airway clearance techniques and devices have rapidly increased in an effort to find a more efficacious strategy that allows for self-therapy, better patient adherence a...

The clearance of secretions from the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is an important component in the fight to preserve their lung function. There is excessive inflammation in the airways of these patients, which is thought to be exaggerated by ineffective mucociliary clearance and bacterial infection. In 2005 the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation formed the Pulmonary Therapies Committee t...

Aerosolized medications are used as airway clearance therapy to treat a variety of airway diseases. These guidelines were developed from a systematic review with the purpose of determining whether the use of these medications to promote airway clearance improves oxygenation and respiratory mechanics, reduces ventilator time and ICU stay, and/or resolves atelectasis/consolidation compared with u...