Chest physiotherapy with positive airway pressure: a pilot study of short-term effects on sputum clearance in patients with cystic fibrosis and severe airway obstruction.

Background: The periodic administration of positive airway pressure combined with directed cough could aid mucus clearance in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and severe airway obstruction.

Objective: To compare the short-term effect of positive expiratory pressure (PEP) physiotherapy via mask (mask PEP), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), and noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) physiotherapies on amount of sputum collected.

Methods: Directed cough was standardized for each patient and used as the control treatment.