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Airway clearance: physiology, pharmacology, techniques, and practice
1Respiratory Care, Ellison 401, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA. dhess@partners.org
Respiratory Care
|September 27, 2007
Summary
Airway clearance therapy is crucial for managing respiratory secretions, but high-level evidence supporting various techniques is lacking. More research is urgently needed to guide optimal clinical practice for effective mucus clearance.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Respiratory secretions and cough are vital for airway defense but can cause obstruction and complications when excessive.
- Current clinical practice emphasizes airway clearance, yet lacks robust scientific evidence for optimal methods.
Framework:
- A conference convened experts to review the physiology of mucus production and cough.
- Discussions covered pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic airway clearance techniques.
- Special considerations for critically ill patients, children, and the elderly were addressed.
Implementation:
- The conference highlighted the need for standardized outcome measures in airway clearance therapy research.
- Various airway clearance techniques were presented and discussed by an international group.
Implications:
- A significant theme was the scarcity of high-level evidence for airway clearance techniques.
- There is a critical need for methodologically sound, well-powered research to advance clinical practice.
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