Prolonged slow expiration technique improves recovery from acute bronchiolitis in infants: FIBARRIX randomized controlled trial:

Objective:To examine the effect of prolonged slow expiration respiratory physiotherapy treatment on the acute bronchiolitis severity scale and O2 saturation at short-time and at medical discharge in infants and the hospital stay.Design:Randomized controlled trial.Setting:Infants’ unit of university hospital.Participants:Infants with acute bronchiolitis (N = 80).Intervention:Infants were randomized into respiratory treatment (RT) with prolonged slow expiration or treatment as usual (control) for one-week period.Main outcome measures:The primary outcomes were Acute Bronchiolitis Severity Scale score and O2 saturation, recorded shortly after each intervention during the stay and at medical discharge, and the hospital stay.Results:The RT had a significantly lower Acute Bronchiolitis Severity Scale 10-minute after the first intervention (mean difference −1.7 points, 95% confidence interval (CI) −3.0 to −0.38), 2 hours after (–2.0 points, 95% CI −3.2 to −0.86) and the last day before medical discharge (−1.3 poi...