THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) has decided not to fund specialised compression vests for people with cystic fibrosis after an expert group said there was insufficient evidence to endorse them.
Officials said they remained open to reviewing the benefits of the vests – estimated to cost in the region of €7,000 each – should new medical evidence become available.
Compression vests are medical devices that use high frequency oscillation to help clear the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis. It is used commonly in the US, but tends not to be favoured by health professionals in Europe.
The Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland reacted with disappointment to the news yesterday.
The group’s chief executive Godfrey Fletcher said the vests could play a crucial role in tackling the condition, particularly among parents who may have several children with cystic fibrosis, or among those who lead a very sedentary lifestyle.
“We know that physical exercise or using manual physiotherapy works. But for some people that can be very difficult and these sorts of devices can offer significant benefits,” he said.
The HSE decided to undertake a review of the benefits of the vests after it received a number of requests to fund them. Its evaluation group concluded that “research into this mode of treatment does not provide any evidence for the superiority of the vest over existing airway clearance methods”.
It added: “There is no evidence for additional benefits in terms of airway clearance, quality of life measures, reduced need for hospitalisation, reduced infections or any improvement in life expectancy.”
HSE officials acknowledged yesterday that there were a “small number” of individuals across the State currently using this device. It is currently in the process of contacting them to inform them of the evaluation of the group’s findings. It said it would ensure they had access to appropriate services, including physiotherapy.
A HSE spokeswoman said the evaluation group included representation from the Health Information Quality Authority and used internationally accepted assessment methodology.
In their input to the review group’s work, chartered physiotherapists concluded that there was no significant benefit for the vest over conventional physiotherapy.
The group further expressed concerns about the potential impact on clients as a result of the passive nature of the intervention – requiring less participation of the individual in their treatment, according to the HSE.
It added that it was not envisaged that the appliance would reduce the need for conventional physiotherapy.