Influence of oscillating positive expiratory pressure and the forced expiratory technique on sputum cell counts and quantity of induced sputum in patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate whether respiratory therapy techniques influence the number of cells within and quantity of induced sputum in patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).


METHODS
Randomized clinical trial, in which patients with asthma or COPD under intervention (n = 16 and 10, respectively) were compared with control groups (n = 16 and 10). Patients in the asthma/intervention (A/I) and COPD/intervention (C/I) groups were submitted to oscillating positive expiratory pressure maneuvers for 5 min, followed by 10 forced expiratory technique sequences. These patients were also submitted to an induced sputum protocol with inhaled hypertonic saline (3%, 4% or 5%; A/I group) or inhaled isotonic saline (C/I group). The asthma/control (A/C) and COPD/control (C/C) groups were submitted only to the standard induced sputum protocol.


RESULTS
The final mean weight of the sputum samples was significantly greater in the A/I group than in the A/C group (2,767.25 +/- 998.08 mg vs. 1,689.17 +/- 1,189.96 mg; p = 0.03). The mean/median total cell counts (x10(6)/mL) were higher in the A/I and C/I groups than in the A/C and C/C groups (4.06/0.95 and 0.63/0.39, p = 0.05, vs. 5.08/1.77 and 0.64/0.40, p = 0.02). There were no statistically significant differences among the groups in terms of cell viability.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of respiratory therapy techniques can increase sputum sample weight in asthma patients, as well as increasing total cell counts in patients with asthma or COPD.
Morsch
Ana Lúcia Bernardo de Carvalho
AL
Universidade Regional Integrada, Erechim, RS, Brasil.
Amorim
Maria Marta
MM
Barbieri
Andréa
A
Santoro
Llka Lopes
LL
Fernandes
Ana Luisa Godoy
AL
D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011175:Positive-Pressure Respiration / Q000379:methods*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013183:Sputum / Q000166:cytology*