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Chest physiotherapy for acute bronchiolitis in paediatric patients between 0 and 24 months old

C Perrotta1, Z Ortiz, M Roque

  • 1Centre of Epidemiology Research, National Academy of Medicine, Pacheco de Melo 3081, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1425. carlaperrotta@yahoo.com

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|April 23, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Chest physiotherapy does not improve outcomes for infants with acute bronchiolitis. Studies found no significant differences in hospital stay, oxygen needs, or clinical severity scores with vibration and percussion techniques.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Pulmonology
  • Critical Care Medicine

Background:

  • Acute bronchiolitis is a common cause of hospitalization in infants under two years old.
  • Chest physiotherapy is a traditional intervention aimed at improving secretion clearance and reducing respiratory effort in infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of chest physiotherapy in infants under 24 months diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis.

Main Methods:

  • Searched multiple databases including CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PASCAL, SCISEARCH, LILACS, and CINAHL for relevant studies.
  • Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing chest physiotherapy to no intervention or alternative physiotherapy in infants under 24 months.
  • Extracted data on clinical severity scores, hospital stay duration, oxygen supplementation, and medication use (bronchodilators, steroids).

Main Results:

  • Three RCTs met the inclusion criteria, all assessing vibration and percussion in postural drainage positions against no intervention.
  • No significant differences were observed in clinical severity scores, length of hospital stay, or oxygen requirements between the chest physiotherapy and control groups.
  • One study included hospitalized infants with acute bronchiolitis, with some requiring nasogastric tube feeding or intravenous fluids.

Conclusions:

  • Chest physiotherapy utilizing vibration and percussion techniques does not appear to shorten hospital stays, reduce oxygen needs, or improve clinical scores in non-mechanically ventilated infants with acute bronchiolitis and no comorbidities.
  • Further clinical research is needed to assess the efficacy of the forced expiratory technique in managing acute bronchiolitis.
Abstract

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