Effects of a program of hospital-supervised chest physical therapy on lung function tests in children with chronic respiratory disease: 1-year follow-up

To investigate whether a hospital-supervised program of chest physical therapy improves lung function in children with chronic pulmonary diseases, twenty-four children (4 with Kartagener's syndrome, 12 with common variable immunodeficiency, and 8 with primary ciliary dyskinesia) average age 11.2 +/- 3.2 years, were randomly assigned to a one-month hospital-supervised program of chest physical therapy (13 patients) or to a control group (11 patients) that continued unsupervised chest physical therapy at home. Lung function was assessed before the program, and one and twelve months after. At the onemonth assessment, thoracic gas volume was significantly lower in the supervised group than in the controls. At the one-year assessment, forced expiratory volume in one second was significantly higher in the supervised group than in controls. A supervised program of chest physical therapy significantly improved lung function in children with chronic pulmonary diseases.