Acapella® choice, from Smiths Medical, is a device that effectively performs oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure (PEP) therapy, which helps to mobilise secretions, open airways and optimise medication delivery.
With certain respiratory conditions, secretions – such as mucus – can build up in the airway and lungs. This can cause breathing problems and can be dangerous, as it means that less oxygen will reach the blood. A lack of adequate oxygen in the blood can lead to severe complications, as it’s needed to enable vital organs to function properly. The treatment to loosen and remove these excessive secretions, and restore proper breathing, is called secretion management.
PEP therapy is one form of secretion management and works by breathing through a PEP device – like acapella choice – in a specific way. Acapella® choice loosens and mobilises secretions in patients with varied types of respiratory problems. When a person breaths out with moderate force through the device their breath will meet resistance. This resistance produces ‘positive pressure’, which helps to keep the airways open. This positive pressure allows airflow to get beneath secretions, forcing them away from airway surfaces. This allows the mucus to move upwards towards the larger airways where it can be coughed out through a technique called ‘huff coughing’. Some methods of PEP also use vibration, which further helps to loosen sticky mucus and secretions. Acapella® choice is a device that provides both PEP therapy and vibrations.
The acapella® choice vibratory PEP therapy system is convenient and can be used in hospital, at home or wherever treatment is needed. The device is easy to use and does not require electricity or medical gas to operate. Oscillating PEP therapy can be used for patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and is recommended within the British Thoracic Society Guidelines for physiotherapy management of adult spontaneously breathing patients (1).
The acapella® choice PEP therapy device is now available on Drug Tariff. The simplicity and ease of use of acapella® choice can be seen in a number of educational videos, which can be found on the Smiths Medical website www.smiths-medical.com
For more information on the acapella® choice device, or on Smiths Medical’s secretion management programme and product range, please contact Cliff Pool, on 07812 151 829, email [email protected] or visit www.smiths-medical.com
References:
- Thorax 2009;64(Suppl I):i1–i51. doi:10.1136/thx.2008.110726
