Postural drainage is often not suitable for infants in the neonatal intensive care unit, who may have lots of equipment attached to them.
The procedure is discontinued if the patient complains of headache, discomfort, dizziness, palpitations,[3] fatigue, or dyspnea.
Patients may be dyspneic after the various maneuvers, since the head-down position increases the work of breathing, reduces tidal volume, and decreases functional residual capacity (FRC).
[citation needed] In postural drainage, the patient's body is positioned so that the trachea is inclined downward and below the affected chest area.
[12] If an entire hemithorax is involved, each lobe has to be drained individually, but a maximum of three position per session is considered sufficient.