The American review of respiratory disease
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Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. · Oct 1981
The effect of mechanical vibration physiotherapy on arterial oxygenation in acutely ill patients with atelectasis or pneumonia.
The effect of mechanical chest vibration on arterial blood gases was studied in 10 patients requiring oxygen therapy who had acute lung disease and an abnormal chest roentgenogram. Eight patients were using mechanical ventilators. For the duration of the study, patients were seated or in a high semi-Fowlers position. ⋯ This study demonstrated that external mechanical vibration of the chest is a useful therapeutic modality in the management of hypoxemia in patients with atelectasis or pneumonia. This was reflected by the increase in PO2 with no change in alveolar ventilation. We presume the better matching of ventilation to perfusion accounted for our results.
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The effect of flow of inspired gas on intrapulmonary gas distribution was examined by analysis of regional pulmonary 133Xe clearances and of total pulmonary 133Xe clearance measured at the mouth after equilibration of the lungs with 133Xe. Five awake healthy volunteers (24 to 40 yr of age) and another 5 healthy, anesthetized-paralyzed volunteers (26 to 28 yr of age) were studied while they were in the right lateral decubitus position. ⋯ Interregional differences in 133Xe clearances along the vertical axis were significantly less during anesthesia-paralysis and mechanical ventilation than during spontaneous breathing in the awake state. No differences in the regional or total pulmonary 133Xe clearances were detected at these different flows in either of the two states, i.e., the difference between the awake and anesthetized-paralyzed states persisted.