Current devices of respiratory physiotherapy

Abstract

In recent years patients with respiratory diseases use various devices, which help the removal of mucus from the airways and the improvement of pulmonary function. The aim of the present study is to determine the effectiveness of the current devices of respiratory physiotherapy, as it comes from the review of literature. The current devices of physiotherapy for patients with respiratory diseases, are presented as an alternative therapy method or a supplemental therapy and they can motivate patients to apply therapy by themselves. These devices seem to increase patients' compliance to daily treatment, because they present many benefits, as independent application, full control of therapy and easy use. These devices are the Positive Expiratory Pressure, the High Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation, the Oral High Frequency Oscillation, the Intrapulmonary Percussive Ventilation, the Incentive Spirometry the Flutter and the Acapella and the Cornet. Current devices seem to be effective in terms of mucus expectoration and pulmonary function improvement, as it is shown by published studies. The choice of the suitable device for each patient is a challenge for the physiotherapist in order to achieve better compliance in daily treatment. More controlled studies are needed due to the fact that the number of published studies is limited.