Trial reportBMC pulmonary medicine2017
Effects of treadmill exercise versus Flutter® on respiratory flow and sputum properties in adults with cystic fibrosis: a randomised, controlled, cross-over trial.
Trial report in BMC pulmonary medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Airway clearance techniques compared to no airway clearance techniques for cystic fibrosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Physical activity and exercise training in cystic fibrosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Exercise training for bronchiectasis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Oscillating devices for airway clearance in people with cystic fibrosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Physical exercise training for cystic fibrosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Oscillating devices for airway clearance in people with cystic fibrosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Effectiveness of positive expiratory pressure on patients over 16 years of age with cystic fibrosis: systematic review and meta-analysis.Therapeutic advances in respiratory diseasePooled it
- Active Cycle of Breathing Technique Versus Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure Therapy Versus Exercise With Huffing During an Exacerbation of Bronchiectasis: A Randomised, Controlled Trial.Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) · 2026Trial
- Acute effects of combined exercise and oscillatory positive expiratory pressure therapy on sputum properties and lung diffusing capacity in cystic fibrosis: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2018Trial
- Assessments and exercises of cough strength in critically ill patients: a literature review.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Review
- Modified forced expiration technique using expiratory resistance in adults with cystic fibrosis.The clinical respiratory journal · 2023Article
- Article
- Short-term effects of a novel bronchial drainage device: A pilot cohort study in subjects with cystic fibrosis.Health science reports · 2022Article
- Methods Used to Evaluate the Immediate Effects of Airway Clearance Techniques in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Development and validation of the Cystic Fibrosis Decisional Balance for Physical Activity scale (CF-DB-PA).BMC pulmonary medicine · 2021Article
- Asthma in Cystic Fibrosis: Definitions and Implications of This Overlap Syndrome.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2021Review
- Exercise and Cystic Fibrosis.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTreadmill exercise and airway clearance with the Flutter® device have previously been shown to improve mucus clearance mechanisms in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) but have not been compared. It is therefore not known if treadmill exercise is an adequate form of airway clearance that could replace established airway clearance techniques, such as the Flutter®. The aim of this study was to evaluate respiratory flow, sputum properties and subjective responses of treadmill exercise and Flutter® therapy, compared to resting breathing (control).
methodsTwenty-four adults with mild to severe CF lung disease (FEV
resultsTreadmill exercise and Flutter® resulted in similar significant increases in peak expiratory flow, but only Flutter® created an expiratory airflow bias (i.e. peak expiratory flow was at least 10% higher than peak inspiratory flow). Treadmill exercise and Flutter® therapy resulted in similar significant reductions in sputum mechanical impedance, but only treadmill exercise caused a transient increase in sputum hydration. Treadmill exercise improved ease of expectoration and Flutter® therapy improved subjective sense of chest congestion.
conclusionsA single bout of treadmill exercise and Flutter® therapy were equally effective in augmenting mucus clearance mechanisms in adults with CF. Only longer term studies, however, will determine if exercise alone is an adequate form of airway clearance therapy that could replace other airway clearance techniques.
trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, Registration number # ACTRN12609000168257 , Retrospectively registered (Date submitted to registry 26/2/2009, First participant enrolled 27/2/2009, Date registered 6/4/2009).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.