The effects of assisted autogenic drainage, combined or not with bouncing on gastroesophageal reflux in infants

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effect of assisted autogenic drainage (AAD) with or without bouncing (BAAD) on both acid and non-acid gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in infants <1year. During a 24-h multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring (MII-pH), infants were treated with a 20-min intervention of AAD (in supine position) or BAAD (in upright position), 2h postprandial. In this controlled trial with intra-subject design, the number of reflux episodes (REs) was the primary outcome measure. The results during AAD and BAAD were compared to a baseline period before intervention and 20min after intervention. Overall, 50 infants were included in both groups. During AAD a significant decrease of RE's was found compared to baseline (p=0.001). No significant differences were found in the BAAD group compared to baseline (p=0.125). AAD and BAAD do not cause or increase GER in infants under the age of 1year.