title: Assessment of the forced expiration technique, postural drainage and directed coughing in chest physiotherapy.
abstract: The Forced Expiration Technique (FET), postural drainage (PD) and directed coughing have been evaluated in 10 patients with copious sputum (mean value 63.3 ml/24 h) with an inhaled radioaerosol method over a 30-min treatment period. FET alone and FET + PD (but not directed coughing) cleared more radioaerosol than during the control period (P less than 0.01). The wet weight of sputum obtained following FET, FET + PD and directed coughing were all significantly greater than control (P less than 0.01). However, sputum obtained by FET + PD was significantly greater than FET alone (P less than 0.05). Both FET and particularly FET + PD have been shown to be more effective than directed coughing alone and it is suggested that these manoeuvres should be incorporated into standard chest physiotherapy.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003371:Cough / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004322:Drainage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011187:Posture; D011897:Random Allocation; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012138:Respiratory Therapy; D013183:Sputum