Effects of CoughAssist therapy on sputum excretion efficacy among patients with intensive care unit-acquired weakness

Objective To explore effects of CoughAssist on sputum excretion efficacy among patients with intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) . Methods From January 2016 to December 2017, we selected 84 ICU-AW patients with mechanical ventilation of ICU in Hu'nan Provincial People's Hospital by convenience sampling. All of the patients were divided into control group and observation group with the random number table, 42 cases in each group. Two groups all received routine treatment and nursing. On this basis, observation group carried out CoughAssist therapy. We compared the sputum excretion effects, results of sputum smear/sputum culture, arterial blood gas indexes, respiratory mechanics indexes, the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) , time of mechanical ventilation, hospital days in ICU and the score of Medical Research Council (MRC) of patients between two groups. Results There were no statistical difference in the volume of sputum excretion of patients in two groups before dividing groups (P>0.05) . One to three days after treatment, the volume of sputum excretion and number of effective sputum excretion patients in observation group were more than those in control group; the positive rate of sputum culture of patients in observation group was lower than that in control group; the differences were all statistical (P 0.05) . Conclusions The application of CoughAssist in ICU-AW patients with mechanical ventilation can improve the sputum excretion effects as well as respiratory function and shorten the time of mechanical ventilation and hospital days in ICU, and improve the clinical effects. Key words: Respiration, artificial; Intensive care unit-acquired weakness; CoughAssist; Sputum excretion