Postoperative Complications
Conditions
Keywords
Spirometry, Postoperative Care
Brief summary
We hypothesize that the addition of modified incentive spirometry to standard postoperative chest physiotherapy will be associated with faster return to baseline/predicted pulmonary function and fewer postoperative pulmonary complications in patients following laparotomy.
Detailed description
The primary objective of this study is to determine how quickly patients' peak expiratory flow measurement returns to baseline or predicted values following laparotomy with or without the assistance of modified incentive spirometry. The secondary objective is to assess the effectiveness of modified incentive spirometry in preventing postoperative pulmonary complications in patients following laparotomy. Specifically, this study will track length of stay, mortality, and evidence of pulmonary infection in both treatment and non-treatment arms.
Interventions
DEVICEIncentive Spirometry
Patients will be provided with plastic, disposable incentive spirometers postoperatively
Patients will be given routine postoperative chest physiotherapy instruction by nursing staff
Sponsors
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Adult patients who undergo laparotomy at Kamuzu Central Hospital, Malawi
Exclusion criteria
* Patients with known pre-existing pulmonary disease * Pregnant women * Patients who cannot perform maximal expiration for measurement of peak expiratory flow meter because of inability to understand or follow directions and demonstrations * Patients with terminal cancer or illness with life-expectancy less than 1 month * Patients with burn injuries * Patients with illness requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation or postoperative ICU admission * Patients who require additional operations during the course of their hospital stay
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Return to baseline or predicted pulmonary function | postoperative course up to discharge | Return to baseline/predicted pulmonary function based on peak expiratory flow measurement. Postoperative measurement will be compared to preoperative measurement (for elective cases) or age-predicted measurement (for emergency cases) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications | postoperative course until discharge | We will measure length of hospital course, mortality, and incidence of pneumonia, pleural effusion, or other postoperative pulmonary complication based on clinical diagnosis and available radiological studies |
Countries
Malawi
Outcome results
None listed