Authors (including presenting author) :
LEE CT (1), Kwong ST (1), Lam PL (1), Cheng P (1), Tsang PL (1)
Affiliation :
(1)Physiotherapy Department, Queen Mary Hospital
Introduction :
Bronchiectasis is a common respiratory condition associated with mucus hypersecretion and reduction in mucociliary clearance. The chronic inflammatory response can lead to dyspnea and sputum retention. SCP such as positioning, breathing techniques, vibration and percussion is a common management to hyper-secretive pulmonary diseases. Recently, HFCWO device is introduced as an adjunct to chest physiotherapy to enhance sputum clearance. In order to monitor the use of HFCWO device, a clinical evaluation was done to investigate the effectiveness of the device in bronchiectasis patients in QMH.
Objectives :
1. To explore the effectiveness of HFCWO device as an adjunct to SCP over bronchiectasis patients
2. To investigate the acceptance of HFCWO device over bronchiectasis patients
Methodology :
All bronchiectasis patients included in this clinical evaluation were referred from the respiratory ward of Queen Mary Hospital for chest physiotherapy management. Patients referred from January 2019 to April 2019 received SCP only (SCP group). Meanwhile, patients referred from May 2019 to December 2019 received HFCWO device as an adjunct to SCP (HFCWO group). SCP approaches were prescribed to patients in HFCWO group with clinical reasoning. The sputum volume expectorated was recorded after each treatment session. Besides, the total sputum volume expectorated in the day after the previous treatment was collected.
Result & Outcome :
Twenty patients (19 females) with a mean age of 63.7 were referred from January 2019 to December 2019. 9 patients and 11 patients were recruited to the SCP and HFCWO group respectively. 2 patients were excluded from HFCWO group due to medical reasons and patients’ refusal. The mean volume of sputum expectorated after each treatment session was 6.5ml and 3.8ml for patients from the SCP and HFCWO group respectively. There was no statistically significant between-group difference (p=0.066). The mean volume of sputum expectorated from the previous treatment session before current treatment session was 31ml and 38.1ml for the patients from the SCP and HFCWO group respectively. There was no statistically significant between-group difference (p=0.163). Besides, there was no adverse event reported throughout the programme.
HFCWO device was provided to be a practicable and widely accepted adjunct to SCP to facilitate sputum mobilization. It might replace vibration and percussion techniques when performing chest physiotherapy to bronchiectasis patients and is a trend of advance practice for physiotherapists.
