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 .
[Mask physiotherapy for prevention of pulmonary complications after heart surgery. A controlled study].
The objective of this prospect i ve , consecutive , r and omized , controlled study was to investigate the effects of mask physiotherapy on postoperative complications after heart surgery . Sixty-six low-risk male patients undergoing coronary artery by-pass graft surgery were evaluated . The patients were treated with routine chest physiotherapy alone or supplied with either positive expiratory pressure ( PEP ) , or inspiratory resistance-positive expiratory pressure ( IR-PEP ) . Postoperative pulmonary complications were assessed by forced vital capacity ( FVC ) , arterial oxygen tension ( PaO2 ) , and chest X-ray examination . There was an almost equal decrease and subsequent rise in spirometric and blood gas values in all three groups , but patients treated with the PEP mask had a borderline significantly higher increase in PaO2 from day three to day six compared with patients treated with no mask . There was an almost equal frequency of atelectasis in the three treatment groups . It is concluded that no significant differences in outcome were found between the three groups
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 .