Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Expiratory rib-cage compression, a chest physiotherapy technique, is well known as the “squeezing” technique in Japan.
OBJECTIVE:
To determine the effects of rib-cage compression on airway-secretion removal, oxygenation, and ventilation in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.
SETTING:
An intensive care unit of an emergency and critical care center at a tertiary-care teaching hospital in Tokyo, Japan.
METHODS:
Thirty-one intubated, mechanically ventilated patients in an intensive care unit were studied in a randomized, crossover trial. The patients received endotracheal suctioning with or without rib-cage compression, with a minimum 3-hour interval between the 2 interventions. Rib-cage compression was performed for 5 min before endotracheal suctioning. Arterial blood gas and respiratory mechanics were measured 5 min before endotracheal suctioning (baseline) and 25 min after suctioning. The 2 measurement periods were carried out on the same day.
RESULTS:
There were no significant differences in the ratio of arterial partial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen, PaCO2 , or dynamic compliance of the respiratory system between the 2 periods (before and after endotracheal suctioning). Moreover, there were no significant differences in airway-secretion removal between the 2 periods.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study suggests that rib-cage compression prior to endotracheal suctioning does not improve airway-secretion removal, oxygenation, or ventilation after endotracheal suctioning in this unselected population of mechanically ventilated patients.
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