The usefulness of respiratory physiotherapy for the prevention of pulmonary complications after cardiac surgery remains unproved .
OBJECTIVE To assess whether respiratory physiotherapy prevents pulmonary complications after cardiac surgery .
Chest Physiotherapy Fails to Prevent Postoperative Atelectasis in Children After Cardiac Surgery
In a prospect i ve , r and omized study , the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy ( CPT ) was evaluated in preventing postoperative atelectasis in children after heart surgery . Postoperative clinical variables and chest x-ray findings of atelectasis were compared in two groups : 19 patients receiving CPT and 25 patients not receiving CPT ( NCPT ) . Chest physiotherapy was associated with significantly more frequent ( p less than 0.01 ) and more severe ( p less than 0.01 ) atelectasis than NCPT . Atelectasis was not significantly associated with temperature elevation , age , or presence of preoperative left-to-right shunt
The usefulness of respiratory physiotherapy for the prevention of pulmonary complications after cardiac surgery remains unproved .
OBJECTIVE To assess whether respiratory physiotherapy prevents pulmonary complications after cardiac surgery .