Milan S, Bondalapati P, Megally M, et al. - Among patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), researchers investigated whether a decrease in hospital length of stay (LOS) can be achieved via therapy with a positive expiratory pressure (PEP) device with or without an oscillatory mechanism (OM) in addition to standard care. They carried out two studies. They performed a prospective trial in patients admitted with AECOPD and sputum production, to compare PEP therapy vs Oscillatory PEP therapy. They also explored the influence of PEP ± OM vs standard care on hospital LOS by comparing a retrospective historical cohort, matched in a 2 to 1 manner by age, gender, and season of admission, vs prospectively gathered data. In patients admitted for AECOPD, a decrease in hospital LOS may be achieved with adjunctive therapy with a PEP device vs standard care. A further decrease in hospital LOS was indicated by the addition of an OM component to PEP therapy.