Effect of lymphatic pump on inflammatory markers and chest expansion in children with community-acquired pneumonia

Abstract

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the most common serious bacterial infectious disease in childhood. It is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children younger than the age of 5 years. Pneumonia is an invasion of the lower respiratory tract, that may result in an inflammation, injury or death of the surrounding epithelium and alveoli by a migration of inflammatory cells to the site of infection. Objective: The purpose of this study was to detect the effect of Lymphatic pump as a physical therapy modality on controlling the inflammatory process and improving chest expansion in children complaining of CAP Patients and methods: Thirty inpatient children with diagnosis of CAP ranging in age from 6 to 12 years were selected from El-Abbasia Chest Diseases Hospital. They were randomly assigned into two groups of equal number (control and study groups). Patients in both groups were treated by conventional chest physical therapy program while patients in the study group received an additional intermittent pneumatic compression, sessions were conducted three times per week till discharge. Inflammatory markers and chest expansion were measured before and after the suggested treatment period. Results: show a statistically significant improvement of c-reactive protein (CRP) and chest expansion while insignificant difference of WBCs count, absolute neutrophils, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was recorded. Conclusion: It could be concluded that intermittent Pneumatic compression is an effective physical therapy modality in treating children with community acquired pneumonia.