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 .
Influence of incentive spirometry on pulmonary volumes after laparotomy.
Twenty patients undergoing an upper abdominal procedure were r and omly assigned in two groups . One group was treated with both chest physical therapy and incentive spirometry and the other was treated with chest physical therapy alone .  Spirometric values , respiratory rate , tidal volume and vital capacity were determined during the postoperative course . We observed that patients treated with incentive spirometry bad a faster return to preoperative pulmonary volumes . This observation confirms the prophylactic role of incentive spirometry in the prevention of pulmonary complications after laparotomy
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 .