Researchers conducted an 8-week study with 42 children who have bronchiectasis, a lung condition that causes a persistent cough and mucus buildup. They wanted to see if adding a handheld breathing device, called an oscillatory positive expiratory pressure (OPEP) device, to a standard chest physiotherapy (CPT) program would help children breathe better during exercise. The CPT program included exercises to clear mucus and improve lung function.
All children did a multicomponent CPT program. Half of them also used the OPEP device. After 8 weeks, both groups of children showed improvements in how far they could walk in 6 minutes and in several breathing measurements taken during exercise. However, there was no significant difference in these improvements between the group that used the extra device and the group that did not. The main finding was that children who had the OPEP device were slightly better at sticking to their daily physiotherapy routine.
The study was quite small and only lasted for 8 weeks, so we don't know if these results would hold up over a longer period or in a larger group of children. The researchers did not report on safety, side effects, or whether the program reduced lung infections (exacerbations). The takeaway is that a structured home physiotherapy program can be helpful for children with bronchiectasis. Adding a specific device might help some children follow the program more consistently, but based on this study, it does not seem to provide extra improvement in exercise capacity or breathing measures.
