Impact of continuous positive airway pressure on the pulmonary changes promoted by immersion in water.

Objective: To determine whether different levels of CPAP improve the lung volumes and capacities of healthy subjects immersed in water.

Methods: This was a randomized clinical trial, conducted between April and June of 2016, involving healthy female volunteers who were using oral contraceptives. Three 20-min immersion protocols were applied: control (no CPAP); CPAP5 (CPAP at 5 cmH2O); and CPAP10 (CPAP at 10 cmH2O). We evaluated HR, SpO2, FVC, FEV1, the FEV1/FVC ratio, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), and FEF25-75%) at three time points: pre-immersion; 10 min after immersion; and 10 min after the end of each protocol.

Results: We evaluated 13 healthy volunteers. The CPAP10 protocol reversed the restrictive pattern of lung function induced by immersion in water, maintaining pulmonary volumes and capacities for a longer period than did the CPAP5 protocol.

Conclusions: When the hemodynamic change causing a persistent lung disorder, only the application of higher positive pressures is effective in maintaining long-term improvements in the pulmonary profile.