Effects of Deep Breathing Exercises Two Months After Cardiac Surgery

Uppsala University

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 2

Conditions: CABG; Valve Surgery

Treatments: Other: Breathing exercises

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01282671

Multic-PEP 2007-160

Details and patient eligibility

About

Hypothesis: Deep breathing exercises performed during the first two months after cardiac surgery, will improve pulmonary function and patient-perceived quality of recovery.

Specific aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of breathing exercises performed with a mechanical device for positive expiratory pressure during the first two months after cardiac surgery compared to a control group performing no breathing exercises.

Design: A prospective, randomized, controlled two-center study.

Full description

Contribution: The study will be taken place at two University hospitals in Sweden.

Uppsala university hospital (PhD, Registered physical therapist (RPT)) Margareta Emtner and RPT Charlotte Urell) and Örebro university hospital; (Elisabeth Westerdahl and RPT Marcus Jonsson).

Time planning: Application to the Research Ethics Committee april 2007. Data collection 2007-2011. Statistical analysis and manuscript writing 2011.

Enrollment: 357 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• A sample of 360 adults (>18 years) patients undergoing cardiac surgery at the two University hospitals are invited to participate in the study.
• Type of cardiac surgery included will be Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) with saphenous vein grafts and/or internal mammary artery graft, valve surgery or combinations of CABG and valve surgery.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who have an emergency operation, previous cardiac or lung surgery, renal dysfunction requiring dialysis or are unable to communicate in Swedish will not be included.
• Patients who requires more than 24 hours respirator treatment, reintubation, reoperation, sternum instability/infection or develop a neurological, mental or haemodynamic complication that affects the patients' ability to collaborate, will be excluded.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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357 participants in 2 patient groups

Breathing exercises

Experimental group

Description:

On the fourth postoperative day the patients are randomly assigned to a Treatment group continuing to perform deep breathing exercises for 2 months postoperatively and to a Control group who will perform no breathing exercises after the third postoperative day. Patient management is otherwise similar in the groups. The patients in the Deep breathing group will be instructed to perform breathing exercises (3 x 10 deep breaths) 5 times a day (document compliance) during the two postoperative months.

Treatment:

Other: Breathing exercises

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

No breathing exercises.