The roles and challenges of IPV and physiotherapy for children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities with repetitive aspiration pneumonia.

Abstract

Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) and physiotherapy were continuously performed in children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities with repetitive aspiration pneumonia. The mean length of hospital stay for aspiration pneumonia was shortened by introducing IPV and controlling the posture.Transcutaneous carbon dioxide pressure (TcPCO2) before starting physiotherapy continued to decrease for about 2 years after introduction of IPV, suggesting that this improvement in ventilation might have been one of the factors which led to the shortening of hospital stay. The results of this study indicated that a long-term chronic use of IPV or a continuous use of IPV at home with posture control might be effective in improving respiratory states, shortening hospital stay, facilitating home-based treatments, and therefore be helpful in terms of improving QOL.