Does physiotherapy reduce the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications following pulmonary resection via open thoracotomy? A preliminary randomised single-blind clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates whether targeted postoperative respiratory physiotherapy decreased the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications and length of stay for patients undergoing elective pulmonary resection via open thoracotomy.

METHODS

Seventy-six patients participated in a prospective, single-blind, parallel-group, randomised trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding and intention-to-treat analysis. Treatment group participants received daily respiratory physiotherapy interventions until discharge. Control group participants received standard medical/nursing care involving a clinical pathway. The presence of postoperative pulmonary complications was assessed on a daily basis during hospitalisation using a standardised diagnostic tool. Length of stay was recorded.

RESULTS

Postoperative pulmonary complications developed in two participants (4.8%) in the treatment group and in one participant (2.9%) in the control group; the difference (treatment minus control) was 1.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) -10.6% to 13.1%) (p=1.00). No significant difference was found between groups for length of stay (treatment group, median 6.0 days; control group 6.0 days) (p=0.87). A preoperative forced expiratory volume in 1s of 1.5l or less (p=0.005) and a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p=0.008) were associated with a greater number of criteria for a postoperative pulmonary complication being met.

CONCLUSIONS

In this patient population, given the low incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications, targeted respiratory physiotherapy may not be required in addition to standard care involving a clinical pathway following pulmonary resection via open thoracotomy. These results should be extrapolated with caution to those patients undergoing pulmonary resection with poor preoperative lung function.