Original Research

Chest physiotherapy in children with acute bacterial pneumonia

Lieselotte Corten, Jennifer Jelsma, Brenda M. Morrow
South African Journal of Physiotherapy | Vol 71, No 1 | a256 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajp.v71i1.256 | © 2015 Lieselotte Corten, Jennifer Jelsma, Brenda M. Morrow | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 21 April 2015 | Published: 28 September 2015

About the author(s)

Lieselotte Corten, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Jennifer Jelsma, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Brenda M. Morrow, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Pneumonia is the single leading cause of death in children younger than 5 years of age. Chest physiotherapy is often prescribed as an additional therapy in children with pneumonia. Different chest physiotherapy techniques are available that aim to improve airway clearance, gas exchange and reduce the work of breathing. However, it is unclear if these techniques are effective in this population.

Objective: The present review aimed to determine the efficacy of different chest physiotherapy techniques compared with no physiotherapy or other chest physiotherapy treatments in hospitalised children with bacterial pneumonia.

Method: Six electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, PEDro, CINAHL and Africa-wide information), clinicaltrials.gov and pactr.org were searched for eligible studies.

Results: Two randomised controlled trials and one ongoing study were identified. Neither completed trial reported differences between the control and intervention groups, although one study reported a longer duration of coughing (p = 0.04) and rhonchi (p = 0.03) in the intervention group.

Conclusion: Because of the limited number of included articles and different presentations of outcome measures, we could not reject or accept chest physiotherapy as either an effective or harmful treatment option in this population.


Keywords

Pneumonia; Chest Physiotherapy; Airway Clearance; Children

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Crossref Citations

1. Assisted autogenic drainage in infants and young children hospitalized with uncomplicated pneumonia, a pilot study
Lieselotte Corten, Jennifer Jelsma, Anri Human, Sameer Rahim, Brenda M. Morrow
Physiotherapy Research International  vol: 23  issue: 1  year: 2018  
doi: 10.1002/pri.1690