Does the effect of comprehensive respiratory physiotherapy home‑program differ in children with cystic fibrosis and non‑cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis?

Abstract

Bronchiectasis is a form of airway damage as a consequence of endobronchial infection and infammation and may be present in diferent diseases. The underlying aetiologies include both cystic fbrosis (CF) and a group of non-cystic fbrosis diseases (NCFB) such as immunodefciency, primary ciliary dyskinesia, or severe pulmonary infection. Although children with CF and non-cystic fbrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) have many similar clinical features, their responses to exercise may be diferent. The aim of this study was to compare the efcacy of a comprehensive respiratory physiotherapy (CRP) home-program in children with CF and NCFB. Thirty children with CF and thirty children with NCFB were included in the study. Both groups performed the CRP home-program twice daily for 8 weeks. Pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and respiratory and peripheral muscle strength were assessed at baseline and after 8 weeks of training. Both groups experienced signifcant improvements in pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and respiratory and peripheral muscle strength (p<0.001). Maximum expiratory pressure, exercise capacity, and peripheral muscle strength were further improved in NCFB group compared to CF (p<0.05); however, there was a great variability in the improvements for each variable. Conclusion: CRP is benefcial both for children with CF and NCFB and adherence to the program was high in both groups