Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 May 9;13(5):e0196750.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196750. eCollection 2018.

Effect of backpack carrying on forced vital capacity in cystic fibrosis: A randomized crossover-controlled trial

Yann Combret  1   2   3 , Clement Medrinal  2   4   5 , Guillaume Prieur  2 , Aurora Robledo Quesada  2 , Pascal Le Roux  3 , Grégory Reychler  1   6
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of backpack carrying on forced vital capacity in cystic fibrosis: A randomized crossover-controlled trial

Yann Combret et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Backpack carrying impacts lung function in healthy children but the effect in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) is unknown.

Methods: Three backpack positions were tested: no backpack (NB), a 12.5% body-weight backpack carried bilaterally (BB) or unilaterally (UB), at rest and during a 10 minute walk. Primary outcome was forced vital capacity (FVC). Secondary outcomes included comparison of cardio-respiratory variables within and between groups.

Results: Nine children with CF (13.3±2.6 years; FEV1 66±22%) and 18 healthy children (13.8±1.8 years; FEV1 107±30%) were included. FVC was reduced with UB compared to NB (68.5±23.3% vs 72.1±24.3%, p = 0.024) in children with CF. FEV1, MIP and MEP decreased more with UB in children with CF than in healthy peers. Increases in VO2, VCO2 and minute ventilation with UB were greater in the CF group during walking.

Conclusions: Unilateral backpack wearing affects FVC in children with CF and requires greater cardio-respiratory adjustments compared to healthy peers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. CONSORT flow diagram of children with CF and healthy children.
Fifty-two subjects were initially screened and 27 were finally included. The white boxes represent the CF group and grey boxes represent the healthy age-matched control group.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Forced vital capacity modification (in % predicted value) in the CF and healthy groups.
NB represents the no backpack carrying position, BB represents bilateral backpack carrying and UB represents unilateral backpack carrying. The black bars represent FVC means in CF group and white bars represent healthy children. Data presented are means (±standard deviations) and * indicates statistical significance (p<0.05).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Forced expiratory volume in one second (in % predicted value) in CF and healthy groups.
NB represents no backpack carrying position, BB represents bilateral backpack carrying and UB represents unilateral backpack carrying. The black bars represent FEV1 means in CF group and white bars represent healthy children. Data are presented as Means (±standard deviations) and * indicates statistical significance within group with p<0.05 and § indicates statistical significance between groups with p<0.05).
Fig 4
Fig 4. Comparison of the time-course of oxygen consumption with UB compared to NB between the CF and healthy groups.
Black circles and black lines represent the time-course of change in oxygen consumption between walking with the UB and walking with NB in the CF group. Grey circles and connecting lines represent the same changes in oxygen time course in the healthy group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Horsley A, Siddiqui S. Putting lung function and physiology into perspective: cystic fibrosis in adults. Respirology. 2015; 20 (1): 33–45. doi: 10.1111/resp.12382 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Elborn JS. Cystic fibrosis. Lancet. 2016; 388 (10059): 2519–2531. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00576-6 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Troosters T, Langer D, Vrijsen B, Segers J, Wouters K, Janssens W et al. Skeletal muscle weakness, exercise tolerance and physical activity in adults with cystic fibrosis. Eur Respir J. 2009; 33 (1): 99–106. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00091607 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chow DH, Ng XH, Holmes AD, Cheng JC, Yao FY, Wong MS. Effects of backpack loading on the pulmonary capacities of normal schoolgirls and those with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Spine. 2005; 30 (21): 649–54. - PubMed
    1. Vieira AC, Ribeiro F. Impact of backpack type on respiratory muscle strength and lung function in children. Ergonomics. 2015; 58: 1005–11. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2014.997803 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types