Open AccessTime invested in the global respiratory care of cystic fibrosis paediatrics patients
Author(s) -
Hafen Gaudenz M.,
Kernen Yann,
De Halleux Quentin M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the clinical respiratory journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.789
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1752-699X
pISSN - 1752-6981
DOI - 10.1111/crj.12011
Subject(s) - medicine , cystic fibrosis , cohort , respiratory system , pediatrics , lung transplantation , prospective cohort study , cohort study , respiratory disease , lung , physical therapy
Abstract Introduction Respiratory therapy is a keystone of the treatment for cystic fibrosis ( CF ) lung disease, but it is time consuming. Objectives We aimed to assess the total time spent on respiratory therapy, including chest physiotherapy ( CPT ) and physical activity ( PA ), as well as inhalation therapy ( IT ) and maintenance of materials ( MM ) to rationalise and optimise treatment. Methods A cross‐sectional prospective study in a paediatric CF cohort. A questionnaire was developed to look at the time spent on respiratory care over 3 months. Enrolled in this study are all CF patients aged from 6 to 16 years (the exclusion criterion was lung transplantation). Results Of the 40 enrolled patients, 22 participated (13 boys and 9 girls), with a mean age of 11 years. The patients spent approximately 19.46 h per week (standard deviation ± 7.53, 8.00–35.25 h) on therapy: CPT (30.58%), IT (15.11%), PA (50%) and MM (4.32%), without statistical significance between sexes. Conclusion In our cohort, CF patients spent an average of nearly 20 h a week in respiratory therapy, within a wide range of between 8 h to almost 36 h a week. PA consumes almost half of the time. Physicians have to take into consideration the burden of the treatment, to optimise the therapy.