Chest physiotherapies for cystic fibrosis, acute bronchiolitis and
patients undergoing mechanical ventilation have been reviewedFlenady 2010; Roqué i Figuls 2012; Van der Schans 2009).However,
the clinical effectiveness of chest physiotherapy for pneumonia
is controversial. Some clinical studies have concluded that
chest physiotherapy did not hasten the resolution of pneumonia
(Graham 1978) or was not useful (Britton 1983; Britton
1985). Two studies suggested that larger or multi-centre trials
were needed to confirm the findings (Ntoumenopoulos 2002;
Tydeman 1989). Others concluded that chest physiotherapy had
beneficial effects in patients with pulmonary infection (Hanying
2005). However, chest physiotherapy may be ineffective and
even harmful. It may cause an increase in oxygen consumption
(Horiuchi 1997; Weissman 1991; Weissman 1993), bronchospasm
(Campbell 1975), induce hypertension, increase oxygen
demand (Horiuchi 1997;Weissman 1993), cause hypoxaemia
(Connors 1980; Poelaert 1991) and even lead to rib fractures
(Chalumeau 2002).
To our knowledge, no systematic review or meta-analysis of chest
physiotherapy for pneumonia has been published. This review
aims to systematically review all randomised controlled trials
(RCTs) which examine the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy for
pneumonia in adults.