Possible Beneficial Effect of Chest Physical Therapy in Hospitalized Asthmatic Children

Patients with acute asthma often demonstrate impaired clearance of secretions from large and small airways. However, chest physical therapy is not generally recommended for acute asthma. Flutter VRP1 is a hand-held device approved by the Federal Drug Administration in the United States for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to promote mucus clearance. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the addition of chest physical therapy such as the Flutter VRP1 device has any effect on pediatric patients hospitalized with acute asthma in an open label, prospective, randomized-controlled clinical trial. Forty-five children between 6 and 16 years of age who were admitted to a tertiary care children's hospital in a large metropolitan area with uncomplicated acute asthma were enrolled in the study. Of these, 20 were randomized to receive the Flutter treatment in addition to the standard therapy for acute asthma upon hospitalization and compared with 20 who re...