The effectiveness of physiotherapy breathing exercises after major chest surgery

The effectiveness of a physiotherapy regimen that includes incentive spirometry post-thoracotomy

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN52709424

Enrollment

186

Registered

2012-05-10

Start date

2008-10-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2016-10-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Thoracic surgery (lung resection) Surgery

Interventions

Control group subjects performed thoracic expansion exercises, and intervention group subjects incentive spirometry from postoperative day 1 (twice daily and subsequently once per day unless deemed ne

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Scheduled male and female patients, aged 18 or over, undergoing open thoracotomy with planned subsequent lung resection.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Emergency thoracotomy, procedures involving the mediastinum and chest wall, planned lung resection via video-assisted thorocoscopic surgery, preoperative immobility, inability to perform spirometry or breathing exercises

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Mean percentage drop in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) on postoperative day 4 (expressed as a percentage of preoperative actual FEV1), as measured with Vitalograph spirometry equipment (Vitalograph, Buckingham, UK). A blinded assessor performed spirometry; physiotherapy interventions were not provided by this assessor, neither was the assessor aware of group allocation.	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Mean percentage ppo FEV1 achieved by postoperative day 4, frequency of postoperative pulmonary complication (PPC), postoperative length of stay (LOS), high dependency unit LOS, sputum retention as defined by need for insertion of 'rescue' minitracheostomy, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and in-hospital mortality. A scoring tool to assess frequency of PPCs amenable to physiotherapy was used daily (during physiotherapy assessment). PPC was recognised in the presence of 4 or more of the following variables; chest x-ray signs of atelectasis/ consolidation, elevated white cell count >11.2 x 109/L or administration of respiratory antibiotics, temperature >38ºC, positive signs of infection on sputum microbiology, oxygen saturation< 90% on room air, new/changed purulent sputum production (yellow or green), physician diagnosis of pneumonia or chest infection and re-admission or prolonged stay (over 36 hours) in ICU/HDU with problems which are respiratory in origin. This scoring tool was deemed appropriate for use in this study following comparison with other published scores.	—

Measure

Time frame

Mean percentage ppo FEV1 achieved by postoperative day 4, frequency of postoperative pulmonary complication (PPC), postoperative length of stay (LOS), high dependency unit LOS, sputum retention as defined by need for insertion of 'rescue' minitracheostomy, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and in-hospital mortality. A scoring tool to assess frequency of PPCs amenable to physiotherapy was used daily (during physiotherapy assessment). PPC was recognised in the presence of 4 or more of the following variables; chest x-ray signs of atelectasis/ consolidation, elevated white cell count >11.2 x 109/L or administration of respiratory antibiotics, temperature >38ºC, positive signs of infection on sputum microbiology, oxygen saturation< 90% on room air, new/changed purulent sputum production (yellow or green), physician diagnosis of pneumonia or chest infection and re-admission or prolonged stay (over 36 hours) in ICU/HDU with problems which are respiratory in origin. This scoring tool was deemed appropriate for use in this study following comparison with other published scores.

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Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Mar 7, 2026