Cough and expectoration of mucus are the best-known symptoms in patients with pulmonary disease. The most applied intervention for these symptoms is the use of chest physiotherapy to increase bronchial mucus transport and reduce retention of mucus in the airways. Chest physiotherapy interventions can be evaluated using different outcome variables, such as bronchial mucus transport measurement, ...

BACKGROUND Airway clearance may be impaired in disorders associated with abnormal cough mechanics, altered mucus rheology, altered mucociliary clearance, or structural airway defects. A variety of interventions are used to enhance airway clearance with the goal of improving lung mechanics and gas exchange, and preventing atelectasis and infection. METHOD A formal systematic review of nonpharm...

The objective of this study was to verify the effects of the decongestive physiotherapy (DP) in the healing of venous ulcers. It is an interventionist, and almost experimental, study with the participation of 20 clients who were divided into 2 groups: the control group (n=10) and the intervention group (n=10). Clients from the first group were only treated with conventional dressing and those i...

BACKGROUND We aimed to evaluate the effects of chest and motor physiotherapy treatment on hemodynamic variables in preterm newborns with respiratory distress syndrome. METHODS We evaluated heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), systolic (SAP), mean (MAP) and diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), temperature and oxygen saturation (SO2%) in 44 newborns with respiratory distress syndrome. We compa...

Acquired chest wall deformities are rarely encountered. Most of them result from pathologic process within the thorax, chest wall disease, iatrogenic deformities or post-traumatic. We present a case of a huge axillary mass deforming the chest wall. Surgery treated a well-encapsulated lipoma. Six months postoperatively, the chest wall restored to normal shape with active respiratory physiotherap...

A toddler presented with a 5-month history of recurrent episodes of cough, wheezing and fever. Before referral, the toddler had been initially diagnosed as having bronchial asthma and later as having pulmonary tuberculosis. On examination, the patient was febrile and had severe respiratory distress. Chest radiograph and high-resolution CT of the chest revealed collapse of the entire left lung w...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cost-effectiveness balance of implementing an intensive program of chest physiotherapy in pulmonary lobectomy. METHODS DESIGN cross-sectional study with historical controls. Cases are 119 patients operated on during a 15-month period of time, after implementation of an intensive chest-physiotherapy program. Controls are 520 patients operated on by the same team be...

Twelve children with cystic fibrosis were admitted to a paediatric rehabilitation hospital for 17 days to take part in a training programme of vigorous physical exercise and sport. The daily inhalation-physiotherapy routine was stopped. Ventilatory status was assessed by spirometry and measurement of lung volumes one day before admission, one day after the end of the hospital stay, and 8 weeks ...

Background: Physiotherapists use manual hyperinflation (MHI) as a treatment for the recruitment of collapsed lung and mobilization of excess pulmonary secretions .Purpose: To investigate the acute effect of manual hyperinflation (MHI) on oxygenation and volume of secretions cleared in mechanically ventilated patients. Subjects and Methods: Manual hyperinflation was delivered in 30 medically sta...