Abstract

Introduction: cystic fibrosis is a hereditary, autosomal recessive disease that affects different organs and systems with a greater impact on the respiratory system with secretion accumulations and frequent infections. Positive expiratory pressure techniques are those that generate a positive pressure in the airways facilitating secretions removal and preventing airways collapse. Objective: to understand how positive expiratory pressure is used with cystic fibrosis patients and to compare it with other respiratory physiotherapy techniques. Material and method: systematic examination review of experimental clinical trials, published between 2004 and 2016 in Medline, Scopus and PEDro databases, whose participants were diagnosed cystic fibrosis and treated with positive expiratory pressure treatment techniques. We selected 10 out of 453 found studies and analysed variables such as; objective of the sample, number of subjects, analysis of short and long-term effects, devices used, technique applied and results. Results: the application of positive expiratory pressure provides benefits to cystic fibrosis patients, especially in the matter of expectoration, decrease in the number of exacerbations and improvement in arterial blood gas pressure, as well as a decrease of maximal expiratory flow-volume in the first second of the forced expiration. Conclusion: the application of positive expiratory pressures could be considered to be an effective cystic fibrosis treatment in conjunction with additional respiratory physiotherapy techniques.