Effectiveness of Respiratory Therapy in Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD) is defined as an event in the natural course of the disease characterized by a change in the patient's usual symptoms (dyspnea, cough and/or sputum) that may not be explained by the daily variations and requires a change in regular medication.

Because AE-COPD result in impairment of both pulmonary and respiratory muscle functions, as well as an increasing impact on costs, priority should be given to interventions to slow the progression of the disease, prevention of exacerbations and reduce the risk of comorbidity.

Chest physiotherapy is often used in hospitalized patients with AE-COPD with the aim of favoring the removal of secretions and thus to improve the ventilation perfusion (V/Q), and therefore the function lung. The limited scientific evidence has determined that their use is controversial and not routinely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. Current clinical guidelines in the treatment of COPD are unable to rule on the application of respiratory therapy during exacerbations, since there is little scientific evidence of its benefits in the short and long term.