[Effectiveness of chest physiotherapy in ventilated children with acute bronchiolitis].
OBJECTIVE
Despite the lack of clinical studies, chest physiotherapy (CP) is widely used in children with acute bronchiolitis. The main goal of this study was to evaluate its short-term efficacy in children under mechanical ventilation for acute bronchiolitis.


METHODS
Twenty children were studied. All were under mechanical ventilation on a pressure-controlled mode. Oxygen saturation, transcutaneous PCO2 and tidal volume were measured before any intervention, after endotracheal suction, after CP and endotracheal suction and 1 h later.


RESULTS
Thirty-eight analyses were performed. Baseline tidal volume, oxygen saturation and transcutaneous PCO2 were not modified after endotracheal suction. Immediately and 1 h after CP, SpO2 (98% vs. 94.5%), and tidal volume (66 vs. 55 ml) significantly increased.


CONCLUSIONS
The increase of O2 saturation and tidal volume may be linked to the improvement of bronchial sputum clearance. Further studies are needed to estimate the long-term efficacy of CP in acute bronchiolitis.
Bernard-Narbonne
F
F
Service de rééducation fonctionnelle, CHI André-Grégoire, 56, boulevard de la Boissière, 93100 Montreuil-sous-bois, France. florence.bernard-narbonne@chi-andre-gregoire.fr
Daoud
P
P
Castaing
H
H
Rousset
A
A
D000208:Acute Disease; D001988:Bronchiolitis / Q000628:therapy*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D013990:Tidal Volume
D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010100:Oxygen