Airway clearance devices for cystic fibrosis

The mandate of the Medical Advisory Secretariat is to provide evidence-based policy advice on the coordinated uptake of health services and new health technologies in Ontario to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and to the healthcare system. [...] Details of the technology’s diffusion into current practice and input from practising medical experts and industry add important information to the review of the provision and delivery of the health technology in Ontario. [...] The goal of all airway clearance therapies is to augment normal mucociliary clearance of the lungs and facilitate expectoration of sputum, in hopes of optimizing respiratory status and reducing the progress of respiratory disease and infection. [...] Differences in the direction of effect, the magnitude of the difference in effect, and the significance of the differences guide the decision about whether important inconsistency exists. [...] In contrast to the results of meta-analysis, significant differences between CCPT and PEP therapy (in favour of PEP) were observed in the trial by McIlwaine (22), specifically for the outcomes of FEV-1 and FVC (Appendix 4, Figure 3).