The following is a summary of “Effect of Respiratory Muscle Training on Children and Adolescents with Cystic Fibrosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” published in the April 2024 issue of Pediatrics by Cai et al.
Cystic fibrosis, a chronic genetic disorder predominantly impacting respiratory function, poses significant challenges to patients, particularly children and adolescents. Prior examinations of respiratory muscle training’s efficacy in cystic fibrosis patients need more conclusive evidence and overlook the influence of age on disease progression.
This systematic review endeavors to fill this gap by investigating the effectiveness of respiratory muscle training on clinical outcomes in pediatric and adolescent populations with cystic fibrosis. Through comprehensive searches of electronic databases and clinical trial registries up to July 2023, controlled clinical trials comparing respiratory muscle training against sham intervention or no intervention were identified. Key outcomes assessed included respiratory muscle strength, endurance, lung function, and cough frequency, while secondary measures encompassed exercise capacity, quality of life, and adverse events.
Employing the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2 for quality assessment and the GRADE approach for certainty evaluation, two independent reviewers meticulously extracted and evaluated data. Meta-analyses were conducted where feasible, with a qualitative approach adopted otherwise. Of the six studies meeting inclusion criteria, the availability of detailed data was restricted to two, published only in abstract form. Variations in study designs and methodologies were evident, warranting cautious interpretation of findings. Aggregate results failed to reveal significant disparities in respiratory muscle strength, lung function, or exercise capacity between treatment and control cohorts. However, subgroup analyses suggested potential benefits of inspiratory muscle training in augmenting maximal inspiratory pressure, while qualitative assessments hinted at enhanced respiratory muscle endurance without adverse effects. While acknowledging the modest evidence supporting the efficacy of respiratory muscle training, the clinical relevance of observed outcomes underscores the imperative to delve deeper into methodological refinements to ascertain its true effectiveness.
This systematic review and meta-analysis underscore the importance of further research to delineate the nuanced impact of respiratory muscle training in pediatric and adolescent cystic fibrosis populations.
Source: bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-024-04726-x
