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Fernández-Carmona, L. Olivencia-Peña, M.E. Yuste-Ossorio, L. Peñas-Maldonado" "autores" => array:5 [ 0 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "A." "apellidos" => "Fernández-Carmona" ] 1 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "L." "apellidos" => "Olivencia-Peña" ] 2 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "M.E." "apellidos" => "Yuste-Ossorio" ] 3 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "L." "apellidos" => "Peñas-Maldonado" ] 4 => array:1 [ "colaborador" => "Grupo de Trabajo de Unidad de Ventilación Mecánica Domiciliaria de Granada" ] ] ] ] ] "idiomaDefecto" => "es" "Traduccion" => array:1 [ "en" => array:9 [ "pii" => "S2173572717302102" "doi" => "10.1016/j.medine.2017.12.005" "estado" => "S300" "subdocumento" => "" "abierto" => array:3 [ "ES" => true "ES2" => true "LATM" => true ] "gratuito" => true "lecturas" => array:1 [ "total" => 0 ] "idiomaDefecto" => "en" "EPUB" => "https://multimedia.elsevier.es/PublicationsMultimediaV1/item/epub/S2173572717302102?idApp=WMIE" ] ] "EPUB" => "https://multimedia.elsevier.es/PublicationsMultimediaV1/item/epub/S0210569117301754?idApp=WMIE" "url" => "/02105691/0000004200000001/v2_201802080938/S0210569117301754/v2_201802080938/es/main.assets" ] ] "itemSiguiente" => array:19 [ "pii" => "S2173572717302084" "issn" => "21735727" "doi" => "10.1016/j.medine.2017.12.003" "estado" => "S300" "fechaPublicacion" => "2018-01-01" "aid" => "1046" "copyright" => "Elsevier España, S.L.U. and SEMICYUC" "documento" => "simple-article" "crossmark" => 1 "subdocumento" => "crp" "cita" => "Med Intensiva. 2018;42:60-2" "abierto" => array:3 [ "ES" => true "ES2" => true "LATM" => true ] "gratuito" => true "lecturas" => array:2 [ "total" => 1893 "formatos" => array:3 [ "EPUB" => 190 "HTML" => 1099 "PDF" => 604 ] ] "en" => array:11 [ "idiomaDefecto" => true "cabecera" => "<span class="elsevierStyleTextfn">Scientific Letter</span>" "titulo" => "Treatment with carfilzomib. Should these patients be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit?" "tienePdf" => "en" "tieneTextoCompleto" => "en" "paginas" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "paginaInicial" => "60" "paginaFinal" => "62" ] ] "titulosAlternativos" => array:1 [ "es" => array:1 [ "titulo" => "Tratamiento con carfilzomib. ¿Deberían estos pacientes ingresar en la unidad de cuidados intensivos?" ] ] "contieneTextoCompleto" => array:1 [ "en" => true ] "contienePdf" => array:1 [ "en" => true ] "resumenGrafico" => array:2 [ "original" => 0 "multimedia" => array:7 [ "identificador" => "fig0005" "etiqueta" => "Figure 1" "tipo" => "MULTIMEDIAFIGURA" "mostrarFloat" => true "mostrarDisplay" => false "figura" => array:1 [ 0 => array:4 [ "imagen" => "gr1.jpeg" "Alto" => 1092 "Ancho" => 3333 "Tamanyo" => 801152 ] ] "descripcion" => array:1 [ "en" => "<p id="spar0005" class="elsevierStyleSimplePara elsevierViewall">Electrocardiogram: sinus rhythm with ST-segment depression on inferolateral aspect.</p>" ] ] ] "autores" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "autoresLista" => "R. Rodríguez-García, M.J. Espina, L. Viña, I. Astola, L. López-Amor, D. Escudero" "autores" => array:6 [ 0 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "R." "apellidos" => "Rodríguez-García" ] 1 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "M.J." "apellidos" => "Espina" ] 2 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "L." "apellidos" => "Viña" ] 3 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "I." "apellidos" => "Astola" ] 4 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "L." "apellidos" => "López-Amor" ] 5 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "D." "apellidos" => "Escudero" ] ] ] ] ] "idiomaDefecto" => "en" "Traduccion" => array:1 [ "es" => array:9 [ "pii" => "S0210569117300682" "doi" => "10.1016/j.medin.2017.02.004" "estado" => "S300" "subdocumento" => "" "abierto" => array:3 [ "ES" => true "ES2" => true "LATM" => true ] "gratuito" => true "lecturas" => array:1 [ "total" => 0 ] "idiomaDefecto" => "es" "EPUB" => "https://multimedia.elsevier.es/PublicationsMultimediaV1/item/epub/S0210569117300682?idApp=WMIE" ] ] "EPUB" => "https://multimedia.elsevier.es/PublicationsMultimediaV1/item/epub/S2173572717302084?idApp=WMIE" "url" => "/21735727/0000004200000001/v1_201802081105/S2173572717302084/v1_201802081105/en/main.assets" ] "itemAnterior" => array:19 [ "pii" => "S2173572717302072" "issn" => "21735727" "doi" => "10.1016/j.medine.2017.12.002" "estado" => "S300" "fechaPublicacion" => "2018-01-01" "aid" => "1087" "copyright" => "Elsevier España, S.L.U. and SEMICYUC" "documento" => "article" "crossmark" => 1 "subdocumento" => "sco" "cita" => "Med Intensiva. 2018;42:47-9" "abierto" => array:3 [ "ES" => true "ES2" => true "LATM" => true ] "gratuito" => true "lecturas" => array:2 [ "total" => 1538 "formatos" => array:3 [ "EPUB" => 168 "HTML" => 761 "PDF" => 609 ] ] "en" => array:10 [ "idiomaDefecto" => true "cabecera" => "<span class="elsevierStyleTextfn">Point of view</span>" "titulo" => "Evolution to the early detection of severity. Where are we going?" "tienePdf" => "en" "tieneTextoCompleto" => "en" "paginas" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "paginaInicial" => "47" "paginaFinal" => "49" ] ] "titulosAlternativos" => array:1 [ "es" => array:1 [ "titulo" => "Evolución a la detección precoz de gravedad. ¿Hacia dónde vamos?" ] ] "contieneTextoCompleto" => array:1 [ "en" => true ] "contienePdf" => array:1 [ "en" => true ] "autores" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "autoresLista" => "F. Gordo, R. Molina" "autores" => array:2 [ 0 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "F." "apellidos" => "Gordo" ] 1 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "R." "apellidos" => "Molina" ] ] ] ] ] "idiomaDefecto" => "en" "Traduccion" => array:1 [ "es" => array:9 [ "pii" => "S021056911730205X" "doi" => "10.1016/j.medin.2017.06.008" "estado" => "S300" "subdocumento" => "" "abierto" => array:3 [ "ES" => true "ES2" => true "LATM" => true ] "gratuito" => true "lecturas" => array:1 [ "total" => 0 ] "idiomaDefecto" => "es" "EPUB" => "https://multimedia.elsevier.es/PublicationsMultimediaV1/item/epub/S021056911730205X?idApp=WMIE" ] ] "EPUB" => "https://multimedia.elsevier.es/PublicationsMultimediaV1/item/epub/S2173572717302072?idApp=WMIE" "url" => "/21735727/0000004200000001/v1_201802081105/S2173572717302072/v1_201802081105/en/main.assets" ] "en" => array:20 [ "idiomaDefecto" => true "cabecera" => "<span class="elsevierStyleTextfn">Review</span>" "titulo" => "Ineffective cough and mechanical mucociliary clearance techniques" "tieneTextoCompleto" => true "paginas" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "paginaInicial" => "50" "paginaFinal" => "59" ] ] "autores" => array:1 [ 0 => array:4 [ "autoresLista" => "A. Fernández-Carmona, L. Olivencia-Peña, M.E. Yuste-Ossorio, L. Peñas-Maldonado" "autores" => array:5 [ 0 => array:4 [ "nombre" => "A." "apellidos" => "Fernández-Carmona" "email" => array:1 [ 0 => "albertofernandezcarmona@gmail.com" ] "referencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "etiqueta" => "<span class="elsevierStyleSup">*</span>" "identificador" => "cor0005" ] ] ] 1 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "L." "apellidos" => "Olivencia-Peña" ] 2 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "M.E." "apellidos" => "Yuste-Ossorio" ] 3 => array:2 [ "nombre" => "L." "apellidos" => "Peñas-Maldonado" ] 4 => array:1 [ "colaborador" => "Working Group of the Mechanical Home Ventilation Unit of Granada" ] ] "afiliaciones" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "entidad" => "Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Granada, Granada, Spain" "identificador" => "aff0005" ] ] "correspondencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "cor0005" "etiqueta" => "⁎" "correspondencia" => "Corresponding author." ] ] ] ] "titulosAlternativos" => array:1 [ "es" => array:1 [ "titulo" => "Tos ineficaz y técnicas mecánicas de aclaramiento mucociliar" ] ] "resumenGrafico" => array:2 [ "original" => 0 "multimedia" => array:7 [ "identificador" => "fig0005" "etiqueta" => "Figure 1" "tipo" => "MULTIMEDIAFIGURA" "mostrarFloat" => true "mostrarDisplay" => false "figura" => array:1 [ 0 => array:4 [ "imagen" => "gr1.jpeg" "Alto" => 2163 "Ancho" => 1625 "Tamanyo" => 385204 ] ] "descripcion" => array:1 [ "en" => "<p id="spar0035" class="elsevierStyleSimplePara elsevierViewall">Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) connected in series in a patient subjected to conventional mechanical ventilation in pressure control mode.</p>" ] ] ] "textoCompleto" => "<span class="elsevierStyleSections"><span id="sec0005" class="elsevierStyleSection elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleSectionTitle" id="sect0025">Introduction</span><p id="par0005" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">“Cough” (in Latin: <span class="elsevierStyleItalic">tussis</span>): the voluntary or reflex sudden, sharp and noisy expulsion of air from the lungs.</p><p id="par0010" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Cough is a defense mechanism with two basic functions: to keep the airway free of foreign elements, and to expel secretions that are produced in excess or under pathological conditions. Ineffective cough is defined as cough unable to adequately perform these functions. Cough can also manifest in acute or chronic form as a symptom of many disease conditions, drug side effects, etc.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0350"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">1,2</span></a></p><p id="par0015" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Many diseases can severely affect the cough reflex and result in ineffective cough, particularly disorders that cause muscle weakness, alterations in bronchial secretion characteristics and clearance, and a decrease and/or abolition of cough stimulation. The disorders that produce ineffective cough result in a tendency to retain bronchial secretions, with alteration of the normal ventilation/perfusion (<span class="elsevierStyleSmallCaps">V</span>/Q) ratio, and an increased risk of respiratory infectious problems. On the other hand, in the presence of a significant amount of secretions in the upper airway that are not expelled correctly, patients experience excessive muscle labor, with a risk of muscle fatigue.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0350"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">1–4</span></a></p><p id="par0020" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">When a patient is unable to cough effectively, techniques that either reinforce cough or replace it are indicated with the aim of improving inspiratory capacity or mobilizing the secretions to where they can be cleared by the patient or by physical means.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0370"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">5–7</span></a></p><p id="par0025" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Ineffective cough has been widely studied in patients with disorders causing muscle weakness, such as neuromuscular disease. In critical patients, the deficient management of secretions is a determining factor of respiratory failure, failed weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation, and failure of noninvasive mechanical ventilation.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0360"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">3,8–10</span></a></p><p id="par0030" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Although there is currently no solid scientific evidence warranting the systematic use of mechanical mucociliary clearance systems in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (the studies involving critical patients being few and heterogeneous), and the recommendations are practically based only on expert opinion, such systems are increasingly used in critical care – often in patients with spinal cord injuries or neuromuscular diseases, but also in situations of muscle weakness or difficult weaning from mechanical ventilation. Special mention must be made of the recent study published by Gonçalves et al., which demonstrates the benefits of these techniques when included in the mechanical ventilation weaning protocols in critical patients, affording lower reintubation rates and shorter ICU stays.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0395"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">10–13</span></a></p><p id="par0035" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">The present review offers a brief description of the physiopathology of cough and comments on the current clinical practice recommendations regarding mechanical mucociliary clearance techniques and their application, including: intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) and mechanical insufflation–exsufflation therapy (MI–E) or mechanical cough assist (MC).</p></span><span id="sec0010" class="elsevierStyleSection elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleSectionTitle" id="sect0030">Assessment of cough efficacy</span><span id="sec0015" class="elsevierStyleSection elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleSectionTitle" id="sect0035">Clinical assessment</span><p id="par0040" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Assessment always should include the patient antecedents and updated clinical history. Special attention should focus on the duration of mechanical ventilation and on whether the patient has an artificial airway or not; the presence of neuromuscular disease; high spinal cord injury; diaphragmatic dysfunction (<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#tbl0005">Table 1</a>); chronic bronchial disease; or disease conditions altering the characteristics of the bronchial secretions, such as cystic fibrosis.</p><elsevierMultimedia ident="tbl0005"></elsevierMultimedia><p id="par0045" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">In addition to the usual physical examination, quantification and evaluation of the characteristics of the bronchial secretions are required, along with assessment of the patient capacity to mobilize and expectorate the secretions, and the need for specific care measures such as cough incentivizing, tracheal aspiration (through the natural or artificial airway), auscultation and respiratory inspection.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0355"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">2,3,6–8</span></a></p><p id="par0050" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Consideration is also required of phonation and swallowing alterations, as well as of the capacity to perform an effective Valsalva maneuver – this being of great importance for spontaneous cough and for non-mechanical cough assist maneuvers.</p><p id="par0055" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Complementary tests are to be added to the physical examination.</p></span><span id="sec0020" class="elsevierStyleSection elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleSectionTitle" id="sect0040">Functional assessment</span><p id="par0060" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">A number of determinations have been used for the functional assessment of cough. Such measurements can be made both in patients with a natural airway and in those who are intubated or subjected to tracheostomy not dependent upon mechanical ventilation:<ul class="elsevierStyleList" id="lis0005"><li class="elsevierStyleListItem" id="lsti0005"><span class="elsevierStyleLabel">-</span><p id="par0065" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleItalic">Peak expiratory pressure (PE</span><span class="elsevierStyleInf"><span class="elsevierStyleItalic">max</span></span><span class="elsevierStyleItalic">)</span>: This parameter measures the maximum pressure generated by the expiratory muscles. The measurement is made following a maximum inspiration coming as close as possible to total lung capacity. However, consensus is lacking regarding the cutoff point of this parameter in defining whether cough is effective or not. On the other hand, peak expiratory pressure has limitations resulting from the measuring process used.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0355"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">2,7,14</span></a></p></li><li class="elsevierStyleListItem" id="lsti0010"><span class="elsevierStyleLabel">-</span><p id="par0070" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleItalic">Gastric pressure during cough maneuvering (PGA-cough)</span>: This parameter estimates the force generated by the expiratory muscles in the expulsive phase; the normal values for adults are >175<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>cmH<span class="elsevierStyleInf">2</span>O in men and > 100<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>cmH<span class="elsevierStyleInf">2</span>O in women. The technique is invasive, however, and there are moreover technical problems for implementing the procedure.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0355"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">2–14</span></a></p></li><li class="elsevierStyleListItem" id="lsti0015"><span class="elsevierStyleLabel">-</span><p id="par0075" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleItalic">Maximum insufflation capacity measure (MIC)</span>: This parameter corresponds to the maximum intrathoracic volume which the patient is able to reach. In adults it has been estimated that the minimum value for ensuring flows that avoid the retention of secretions through spontaneous cough is 1500<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>ml, versus 1000<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>ml in the case of patients with assisted cough.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0415"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">14,15</span></a></p></li><li class="elsevierStyleListItem" id="lsti0020"><span class="elsevierStyleLabel">-</span><p id="par0080" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleItalic">Peak flow during cough (PFC)</span>: This is the parameter that best determines the capacity to eliminate respiratory secretions during cough. The PFC values show good correlation to the conventional lung and muscle function test results in both healthy individuals and in patients with neuromuscular diseases. The parameter is easy to determine with portable systems that moreover allow us to measure peak expiratory flow. The minimum effective PFC for mobilizing airway secretions is ≥2.7<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>l/s; lower PFC values have been associated to increased mortality in patients with neuromuscular diseases, and to failed definitive tracheostomy closure.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0360"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">3,14,16,17</span></a></p></li></ul></p><p id="par0085" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">The clinical practice guides referred to patients with neuromuscular diseases recommend the chronic use of mechanical mucociliary clearance techniques in individuals with PFC<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>≤<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>2.7<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>l/s (160<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>l/min). In patients with PFC<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>≤<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>4.5<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>l/s (270<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>l/min), such techniques are advised during exacerbations or processes that increase the production of bronchial secretions.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0375"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">6,18–20</span></a></p><p id="par0090" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Furthermore, if peak expiratory flow is measured, the association between this parameter and PFC is useful for assessing the degree of bulbar involvement in neuromuscular disease, since a PFC value equaling peak expiratory flow indicates that glottic closure is difficult or impossible.</p></span><span id="sec0025" class="elsevierStyleSection elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleSectionTitle" id="sect0045">Other related explorations</span><p id="par0095" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall"><ul class="elsevierStyleList" id="lis0010"><li class="elsevierStyleListItem" id="lsti0025"><span class="elsevierStyleLabel">-</span><p id="par0100" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleItalic">Basic spirometry</span>: A vital capacity of <50% the theoretical value in adults is generally considered to be insufficient. Forced and non-forced vital capacity can be measured with a simple electronic spirometer, a Wright spirometer, or conventional spirometry. Furthermore, basic spirometry can complete the study of the background respiratory disease of the patient.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0420"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">15</span></a></p></li><li class="elsevierStyleListItem" id="lsti0030"><span class="elsevierStyleLabel">-</span><p id="par0105" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">In patients with suspected diaphragmatic dysfunction of any origin, the measurement of forced vital capacity in the sitting position and in dorsal decubitus with a reduction of >25% (dorsal decubitus) is diagnostic of severe diaphragmatic dysfunction. The <span class="elsevierStyleItalic">ultrasound study of diaphragm kinetics</span> allows us to identify the existence of unilateral or bilateral involvement. In this regard, severe dysfunction of the evaluated hemidiaphragm is defined by echographic caudal displacement during non-forced respiration of ≤10<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>mm in men and ≤9<span class="elsevierStyleHsp" style=""></span>mm in women.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0450"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">21–23</span></a> Diaphragmatic dysfunction secondary to prolonged mechanical ventilation is quite prevalent in the UCI, and ultrasound is an accessible and useful technique for establishing an early diagnosis of this disorder.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0465"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">24</span></a></p></li><li class="elsevierStyleListItem" id="lsti0035"><span class="elsevierStyleLabel">-</span><p id="par0110" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleItalic">Pleuropulmonary ultrasound (PPU)</span>: This technique is of growing importance in the management of critical patients, due to its non-invasiveness, validity and applicability at the patient bedside. It facilitates the detection of pleural effusion and pneumothorax, and allows the diagnosis and follow-up of pneumonic condensation and atelectasis. Furthermore, PPU complements the hemodynamic information provided by echocardiography with the assessment of extravascular lung water, and offers information on pulmonary aeration in a range of diseases. In patients with ineffective cough, protocolized PPU (exploration of 8 thoracic areas according to the international recommendations) allows us to monitor the presence of atelectasis and its response to mechanical cough, as well as to ensure the early detection of serious complications such as nosocomial pneumonia, and avoid unnecessary radiation exposure. This complementary technique in turn allows the prediction of extubation success in patients subjected to mechanical ventilation.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0470"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">25,26</span></a></p></li></ul></p></span></span><span id="sec0030" class="elsevierStyleSection elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleSectionTitle" id="sect0050">Mucociliary clearance techniques</span><p id="par0115" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Ineffective cough is an indication for the use of techniques that either facilitate or replace cough—improving inspiratory capacity or mobilizing the secretions to where they can be cleared by the patient or by physical means.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0360"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">3,8–10</span></a></p><p id="par0120" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Conventional initial management in such situations seeks to reduce the viscosity of the secretions in order to facilitate their elimination through natural cough. In addition to opportune medical treatment (antibiotics, mucolytic agents, bronchodilators, etc.), postural drainage, respiratory physiotherapy and cough incentivizing (contraindicated in situations of instability or postural intolerance) are also indicated. These techniques, together with early patient mobilization, suffice in most cases.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0480"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">27</span></a> In patients with very dense secretions, active humidification systems may prove useful.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0355"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">2,28</span></a></p><p id="par0125" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">When these measures are not enough, noninvasive assist techniques should be considered for the management of secretions, including manual cough assist, mechanical cough assist (mechanical insufflation–exsufflation therapy [MI–E] or MC) and intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV).<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0355"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">2,5–7,29–32</span></a> In the studies published to date (mostly involving patients with neuromuscular diseases), mechanical mucociliary clearance techniques have been found to reduce the number of pulmonary infections and moreover tend to improve lung function. Patients admitted to the ICU and with prolonged mechanical ventilation develop conditions comparable to neuromuscular diseases in terms of muscle weakness, atrophy and fatigability,<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0465"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">24</span></a> and these techniques have been shown to offer benefits when included in the mechanical ventilation weaning protocols of critical patients—even in individuals with severe restrictive problems in which other weaning regimens have failed.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0395"><span class="elsevierStyleSup">10–13,33</span></a></p><p id="par0130" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">These therapies are effective and safe, and are often used in our Unit, applied indistinctively by experienced physicians and nurses (following a protocol prescribed by the supervising physician and detailed in a specific treatment sheet). In other centers such techniques are indicated and programmed by rehabilitation specialists and physiotherapists (fundamentally in spinal cord injury units). However, due to the physiopathological characteristics inherent to critical patients, such procedures in the ICU should be known and supervised by intensivists—in contrast to chronic treatments or stable patients, which are not contemplated in this review.</p></span><span id="sec0035" class="elsevierStyleSection elsevierViewall"><span class="elsevierStyleSectionTitle" id="sect0055">Mechanical cough assist</span><p id="par0135" class="elsevierStylePara elsevierViewall">Mechanical cough assist (MC) or mechanical insufflation–exsufflation therapy (MI–E