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 .
An evaluation of the incentive spirometer to improve lung function after cholecystectomy
Forty patients who underwent elective cholecystectomy were allocated r and omly to one of two groups . Patients in one group used an incentive spirometer as part of their postoperative chest physiotherapy ; those in the other received routine postoperative physiotherapy as dictated by their needs . Each group contained equal numbers of smokers and nonsmokers , and the data from each group were analysed separately . The use of the incentive spirometer  did not confer any benefits as judged by clinical evidence of pulmonary complications , pulmonary function tests or length of hospital stay
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 .