Physiotherapy for Infants With Bronchiolities

Physiotherapy Including Frequent Changes of Body Position and Stimulation to Physical Activity for Infants With Bronchiolitis and Other Acute Respiratory Infections - a Randomized Controlled Trial

Children who are in a hospital with respiratory distress often have difficulty breathing, have thick mucus, and may find it hard to eat normally. Sometimes physical therapy is used to treat these children, but it is not entirely known which methods help the children's condition. The aim of this study is to evaluate the most common physiotherapy treatment method that is currently in use in Sweden for infants who are hospitalized with a lower respiratory infection.

All children under 2 years of age who are admitted to the hospital for a respiratory infection and who have previously been essentially healthy are asked to participate. The infants will be randomized to 3 groups, 1 control group and 2 intervention groups. The infants in the control group will receive the standard care at the clinic. In one intervention group the parents will receive instructions how to vary their child body position regularly, and in the other intervention group the child will receive physiotherapy regularly and the parents will carry out some treatment. Further actions in the form of inhalations or stimulation of deep breathing, will be used when needed. The children will be observed following a structured observational protocol regularly throughout the hospital stay.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Infants hospitalized because of respiratory infections such as bronchiolitis, pneumonia or other airway obstructions.
• Age 0-24 months
• Born in gestation week 35 or later.
• Guardians understand written Swedish, English, Arabic or Persian

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previous cardiac or respiratory disease
• hospitalized more than 24 hours on this occasion