Respiratory muscle strength for discriminating frailty in community-dwelling elderly: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To compare obtained and predicted inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength between frail, pre-frail, and non-frail older people; to examine the association between inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength and frailty in older people; and to determine cut-off points for inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength for discriminating frailty in older people.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 379 community-dwelling older adults. Frailty was assessed using Fried's phenotype, while inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength were measured with maximum inspiratory and maximum expiratory pressures.

Adding positive airway pressure to mobilisation and respiratory techniques hastens pleural drainage: a randomised trial.

Questions: In patients with a collection of fluid in the pleural space, do mobilisation and respiratory techniques: shorten the drainage period and length of hospital stay; improve respiratory function and oxygenation; and prevent pulmonary complications? Does the addition of positive airway pressure to this regimen further improve the effects?

Design: Randomised controlled trial with three intervention arms, concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis and blinded assessment.

Participants: One hundred and fifty-six inpatients with a fluid collection in the pleural space and with chest drainage in situ.

Intervention: Participants received usual care and were randomly assigned to: a control group that also received sham positive airway pressure (4 cmHO) only (Con); an experimental group that received incentive spirometry, airway clearance, mobilisation and the same sham positive pressure (Exp1); or an experimental group that received the Exp1 regimen except that the positive airway pressure was 15 cmHO (Exp2).