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International Workshop PDF Print E-mail

International workshop onfotoworkshop

Airway clearance in neuromuscular patients:  
use of PEGASO COUGH and MINI PEGASO cough assist


Speakers:
Prof. Dott. Renato Cutrera (Chair) – Paediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù IRCCS, Rome (Italy)
Dott. Karsten Siemon - Fachkrankenhaus Kloster Grafschaft GmbH (Germany)
Dott.ssa Maria Beatrice Chiarini Testa – Paediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù IRCCS, Rome (Italy)

The workshop, organized by DIMA ITALIA srl in association with Vivisol Deutschland and chaired by Prof. Cutrera during the ERS 2011, presented the state-of-the-art development of the cough assist in neuromuscular patients. Both speakers, Dr. Siemon and Dr. Chiarini Testa, benefit from many years of experience in using PEGASO cough assist as an implement to reduce the airway obstructions caused by a reduced clearance. As a matter of fact, the cough assist therapy has showed effective in improving the clearance and preventing acute respiratory failure due to pulmonary infections on neuromuscular patients. For the above reasons, PEGASO COUGH and MINI PEGASO are recommended in hospital, for inward as well as for intensive care patients, and in homecare use. In Germany, PEGASO is being used with COPD patients too, despite cough therapy has always been excluded for this kind of patients. However, treatments have been successful so far and the results seem promising, even though medical surveillance is strictly required in these cases. Another successful field of application for PEGASO is pediatrics. The cough assist does not only clear the airways, but is also a good help in harmoniously developing the body of the little neuromuscular patients, as Dr. Chiarini Testa explained. More topics (wide range of treatment applications, need/possibility to customise the therapy, homecare use, patient’s training and assessing therapy risk vs. improving quality of life) were debated at the end of the presentations. Videos and hands-on sessions completed the event, which attenders actively contributed to: a demonstration of the lively interest and manifold experiences on this topic.

Download here the detailed presentation of the workshop.