Comparing effects of inspiratory muscle trainer and lung flute on sputum clearance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A randomized controlled trial
Affiliations: [a]
Father Muller College of Physiotherapy, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
| [b]
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore, India
| [c] THIM Internationale Hochschule für Physiotherapie, Landquart, Switzerland
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Aishwarya Gatty, Father Muller College of Physiotherapy, Mangalore, Karnataka, India. Email: ashgatty95@gmail.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease. Mucus accumulation, a common impairment in COPD affects lung function, exacerbations and quality of life. Physiotherapy measures including positive expiratory pressure devices like lung flute form the non-pharmacologic treatment options for the same. Although not a primary airway clearance device, inspiratory muscle trainer (IMT) plays a role in it. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of lung flute and IMT as methods for sputum clearance in COPD. METHOD:Participants with COPD were recruited from the Department of Pulmonology and screened for eligibility. Block randomization was used to divide the participants into three groups: Inspiratory muscle training (IMT), lung flute (LF), and routine physiotherapy (RP). Supervised 30 minutes of in-patient intervention was delivered to all the groups for 6 days, once a day. Total sputum volume analysis (TSV) was conducted before and after 6 days of intervention. Descriptive statistics were presented as median and quartiles. Kruskal Wallis H test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were applied. RESULTS:60 participants aged 55 to 65 years with mild to moderate COPD were included in the study. Median TSV for RP, LF and IMT were 8.50, 20.50 and 25.75 ml respectively. Pair-wised comparisons for TSV revealed significant differences for the means of the rank scores between RP and LF (LF dominant) (p < 0.001), RP and IMT (IMT dominant) (p < 0.001) and LF and IMT (IMT dominant) (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION:IMT performed superiorly in terms of sputum clearance in patients with COPD.
