Lung Sounds as Indicators of Severity and Recovery of Lung Disease

This study aims to assess the responsiveness to change of adventitious lung sounds (ALS) in patients with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). Patients will be recruited from a central Hospital and their demographic and anthropometric data, lung sounds, lung function, breathlessness, oxygen saturation and chest HRCT scan will be collected within 24h of the first appointment. Then, patients will be randomly allocated to either conventional treatment or conventional treatment plus respiratory physiotherapy. Conventional treatment will consist on daily medical treatment prescribed by the physician. Respiratory physiotherapy will involve 9 sessions (3 times a week during 2 weeks) of breathing retraining and chest clearance techniques, exercises for thoracic mobility, expansion and flexibility, cardiorespiratory exercise training and education about the disease. It is expected that ALS will be responsive to changes in patients' lung function after treatment. It is also expected that, by including a respiratory physiotherapy component in the treatment of patients with LRTI, they will express more improvements in a shorter period of time.