Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of a physiotherapy protocol on patients
with pleural effusion. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: University
hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 104 consecutive inpatients with a medical
diagnosis of pleural effusion. INTERVENTION: Patients were randomly allocated to
a control group receiving standard treatment (medical treatment and drainage) or
an intervention group treated with physiotherapy added to standard treatment. The
physiotherapy programme included deep breathing exercises, mobilizations and
incentive spirometry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Spirometric predicted values and
chest radiographs were measured before treatment and at discharge and the length
of hospital stay was recorded. Assessors were blinded to the intervention.
RESULTS: A comparative analysis showed a significant improvement of spirometric
parameters in the intervention group; pre-to-post hospitalization predicted
values showed significant changes in vital capacity (73.1 +/- 12.6% to 72.13 +/-
13.7 %, P<0.001 ), forced expiratory volume in first second (72.13 +/- 13.7% to
78.98 +/- 16.9%, P<0.001) and forced expiratory flow at 25-75 % (64.8 +/- 35.1%
to 76.78 +/- 35.3%, P=0.198) compared to the control group that showed no
significant changes across treatment. The radiographic findings showed better
scores on the affected side of the thorax at discharge in the physiotherapy
group. Length of hospital stay was also significantly (P=0.014) shorter in the
intervention group (26.7 +/- 8.8 days) compared to the control group (38.6 +/-
10.7 days). CONCLUSIONS: A physiotherapy programme added to standard treatment
improves the spirometric parameters and the radiological findings and reduces the
hospital stay in patients with a pleural effusion.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Langue : ANGLAIS