CONCLUSION There was no evidence to support the use of incentive spirometry in the management of surgical patients .
OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review to evaluate the evidence of the use of incentive spirometry ( IS ) for the prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications and for the recovery of pulmonary function in patients undergoing abdominal , cardiac and thoracic surgeries .
Risk factors for pulmonary complications after emergency abdominal surgery.
OBJECTIVE Pulmonary complications are common after abdominal surgery .  Although a variety of risk factors have been described for these complications , studies so far have focused on elective interventions . The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and predictors of pulmonary complications following  emergency abdominal surgery .  METHODS This was a prospect i ve cohort study . Pre and intra-operative data were collected through interview and chart review and their association with the occurrence of postoperative pulmonary complications ( PPC ) were analyzed . RESULTS Two hundred and sixty-six consecutive adult patients were included and seventy-five ( 28.2 % ) developed PPC . Age > 50 years ( adjusted OR=3.86 ; P<0.001 ) , body mass index ( BMI ) < 21 kg/m(2 ) or 30 kg/m(2 ) ( adjusted OR=2.43 ; P=0.007 ) and upper or upper/lower abdominal incision ( adjusted OR=2.57 ; P=0.027 ) were independently associated with PPC . Patients su bmi tted to multiple procedures tended to be at a higher risk for PPC ( adjusted OR=1.73 ; P=0.079 ) . The development of PPC was associated with prolonged hospital stay ( P<0.001 ) and increased death rate ( P<0.001 ) . CONCLUSIONS Pulmonary complications are frequent among patients undergoing abdominal emergency surgery  and lead to increased length of hospital stay and death rate . Older age , abnormal BMI , upper or upper/lower abdominal incision and multiple procedures are predictors of PPC in this setting
CONCLUSION There was no evidence to support the use of incentive spirometry in the management of surgical patients .
OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review to evaluate the evidence of the use of incentive spirometry ( IS ) for the prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications and for the recovery of pulmonary function in patients undergoing abdominal , cardiac and thoracic surgeries .