Erika Kolumbán, Márton Szabados, Márk Hernádfői, Uyen Nguyen Do To, Rita Nagy, Ádám Zolcsák, Katalin Eszter Müller, Zoltán Sipos, Dániel Sándor Veres, Anett Szőllősi, Péter Hegyi, Miklós Garami, Ibolya Túri
BACKGROUND: Despite medical advances, individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) face significant respiratory challenges, leading to heightened hospitalization rates and early mortality among this population. We hypothesize that integrating supplementary respiratory therapy into standard rehabilitation will result in significant improvements in pulmonary function, enhanced respiratory muscle strength, and an overall increase in the quality of life among pediatric patients with CP. METHODS: A systematic search of literature across five databases was conducted, and random-effects meta-analyses were performed to assess the impact of supplementary respiratory therapy on (a) pulmonary function: forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FVC/FEV1 ratio, peak expiratory flow (PEF), and (b) respiratory muscle strength: maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure (MIP, MEP), and (c) quality of life...
February 2, 2024: Journal of Clinical Medicine