Evidence derived from small trials suggests that preoperative physical therapy reduces postoperative pulmonary complications ( atelectasis and pneumonia ) and length of hospital stay in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery .
There is a lack of evidence that preoperative physical therapy reduces postoperative pneumothorax , prolonged mechanical ventilation or all-cause deaths
BACKGROUND After cardiac surgery , physical therapy is a routine procedure delivered with the aim of preventing postoperative pulmonary complications .
OBJECTIVES To determine if preoperative physical therapy with an exercise component can prevent postoperative pulmonary complications in cardiac surgery patients , and to evaluate which type of patient benefits and which type of physical therapy is most effective .
The efficacy of the relaxation response in preparing for cardiac surgery.
This study evaluated the efficacy of the relaxation response on the post-operative recovery of 27 cardiac surgery patients r and omly assigned to one of two groups . Thirteen experimental group patients received educational information and practice d eliciting the relaxation response before and after surgery . The 14 patients in the control group received only information . Experimental and control groups were compared before and after surgery on both physiological and psychological recovery variables . There were no initial differences between experimental and control groups on demographic , physiological , and most psychological variables . The experimental group had lower incidence of postoperative supraventricular tachycardia ( SVT ) than the control group ( p = .04 ) despite having had the same occurrence previously . Experimental and control groups did not significantly differ over the course of study on any other physiological variables . Patients practicing the relaxation response had greater decreases in psychological tension ( p = .04 ) and anger ( p = .04 ) than those who received only educational information . The decreases in psychological tension may have been a result of regression to the mean because the experimental group started with elevated tension relative to the control group ( p = .04 ) . We conclude that practicing the relaxation response before and after surgery may reduce SVT , tension , and anger
Evidence derived from small trials suggests that preoperative physical therapy reduces postoperative pulmonary complications ( atelectasis and pneumonia ) and length of hospital stay in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery .
There is a lack of evidence that preoperative physical therapy reduces postoperative pneumothorax , prolonged mechanical ventilation or all-cause deaths
BACKGROUND After cardiac surgery , physical therapy is a routine procedure delivered with the aim of preventing postoperative pulmonary complications .
OBJECTIVES To determine if preoperative physical therapy with an exercise component can prevent postoperative pulmonary complications in cardiac surgery patients , and to evaluate which type of patient benefits and which type of physical therapy is most effective .