Chest physiotherapy is not clinically indicated for infants receiving outpatient care for acute wheezing episodes.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy (CPT), which provides slow and long expiratory flow and assisted cough techniques, in infants receiving outpatient care for acute wheezing episodes.

Methods: Forty-eight infants with moderate acute wheezing episodes were randomised to receive either salbutamol MDI with CPT (n = 25) or without CPT (n = 23). The clinical score and SpO2 levels were recorded, before and after treatment, in a blinded design.

[Methodology for evaluating cost-effectiveness in primary health care centers in Chile].

Objective: Present a methodology for evaluating cost-effectiveness in primary health care centers (PHCs) in Chile based on the family health care model promoted in Chile and evaluate the results of the first two years of operation of the first pilot center to work under this new primary-care model.

Methods: A cost-effectiveness study with a social perspective and a one-year time frame was conducted. In order to compare the university health center in question with the control (a municipal health center), a Family Health Center Composite Quality Index (FHCCQI) was devised.