Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Speleotherapy for asthma.

S Beamon1, A Falkenbach, G Fainburg

  • 12 Morton Street, Royston, Herts., UK, SG8 7AZ.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|May 5, 2000
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Predictors and outcomes in primary depression care (POKAL) - a research training group develops an innovative approach to collaborative care.

BMC primary care·2022
Same author

Acupuncture in diabetic peripheral neuropathy-protocol for the randomized, multicenter ACUDPN trial.

Trials·2021
Same author

The persistence of the effects of acupuncture after a course of treatment: a meta-analysis of patients with chronic pain.

Pain·2016
Same author

MMW Fortschritte der Medizin·2016
Same author

Incisional Hernia: Complications & Quality of Life.

Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery·2015
Same author

[The Motivation for Physicians in Training as Specialists in General Medicine to Open their Own Surgery].

Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany))·2015
Same journal

Interventions for smoking cessation in inpatient psychiatry settings.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Mechanical thromboprophylaxis for preventing intradialytic hypotension in people undergoing maintenance haemodialysis.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Prognostic models for predicting intensive care unit admission or mortality in critically ill adults not yet been admitted to the intensive care unit.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Views and experiences of weight management for people living with mobility‑limiting conditions, intellectual disabilities or severe mental illness: a qualitative evidence synthesis.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Non-pharmacological interventions for anxiety and depression in Parkinson's disease.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Biologic drugs for induction and maintenance of remission in Crohn's disease: a network meta-analysis.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
See all related articles

Speleotherapy, a natural treatment using caves, shows some short-term benefits for asthma symptom relief. However, more high-quality research is needed to confirm its effectiveness for chronic asthma management.

Area of Science:

  • Pulmonology
  • Environmental Medicine
  • Complementary Medicine

Background:

  • Speleotherapy involves utilizing subterranean environments for therapeutic purposes, primarily for chronic obstructive airways diseases.
  • This treatment is widely adopted in Central and Eastern European countries but remains largely unrecognized in the UK and US.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review existing evidence on the efficacy of speleotherapy for asthma treatment.

Main Methods:

  • A comprehensive search of electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Airways group) and expert consultations was conducted.
  • Included studies were controlled clinical trials comparing speleotherapy with other interventions or no intervention in asthma patients.
  • Data on patients, interventions, outcomes, and methodology were extracted and descriptively summarized by two independent reviewers.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Three trials involving 124 children with asthma met the inclusion criteria; however, only one trial possessed adequate methodological quality.
  • Two trials indicated a short-term positive impact of speleotherapy on lung function.
  • Reliable assessment of other outcomes was not feasible due to data limitations.

Conclusions:

  • Current evidence is insufficient to definitively conclude on the effectiveness of speleotherapy for chronic asthma.
  • Further high-quality randomized controlled trials with extended follow-up periods are essential to establish the therapeutic value of speleotherapy.