Pneumotherapy

PNEUMOTHERAPY (syn. pneumonotherapy), a method for treating certain lung diseases by means of inhaling compressed air or exhaling into a vacuum space. This treatment, which was widely used in the first half of the 19th century and especially at its end, is now almost abandoned. P. is performed either actively in pneumatic chambers or passively by special apparatus in which the air is under increased pressure (see Waldenburg's apparatus). The effect of P. is apparently due to the reduction of hyperemia and catarrhal phenomena in the bronchi under the influence of increased pressure and to the increase in vital lung capacity. Thanks to combined P., the volume and excursion of the chest also increase, which has special therapeutic significance in cases of impaired elasticity of the chest. The indications for P. are therefore: 1) chronic, persistent bronchitis with the secretion of abundant viscous mucus, 2) cicatricial and infiltrative processes in the lungs accompanied by difficulty in inspiration and partial atelectasis of certain lung areas (scars, post-pneumonic infiltrates, pleural adhesions, lung tumors), 3) bronchial asthma with its consequences. Exhaling into a vacuum space often has a beneficial effect in pulmonary emphysema. The latter is, however, as a rule, accompanied by chronic bronchitis, which is why combined P. (with compressed air and a vacuum space) is usually used in this disease. Contraindications to the use of P. are the presence of tuberculosis of the lungs (especially decompensated), purulent or gangrenous decay in them, exudative pleurisy, as well as general circulatory disorders in heart defects and insufficiency of the heart muscle.