Benefits of Multiple-Intervention Pulmonary Rehabilitation to Older Adults with High-Risk Multimorbidity after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

OBJECTIVE

Multimorbidity in elderly patients increases complications and retards the recovery of pulmonary function after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. We aimed to evaluate the impact of multiple-intervention pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on respiratory muscle strength and dyspnea scores after CABG in adult patients aged ≥65 years who had multimorbidity.

METHODS

A cohort study was retrospectively conducted with 95 adults aged ≥65 years who underwent CABG surgery and completed a multiple-intervention PR program.

RESULTS

Patients in the non-multimorbidity ( = 56) and multimorbidity groups ( = 39) were evaluated on the basis of their muscle strength, degree of dyspnea, and pulmonary function. Postoperative complications were compared after the completion of PR. Between extubation days 1 and 14, the multimorbidity group showed significant improvements in maximal inspiratory pressure (16.91 vs. 24.95 cmHO, < 0.001), Borg Scale score (0.99 vs. 2.3, < 0.001), and the ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 s to forced vital capacity (FEV/FVC ratio) of 7.02% vs. 13.4% ( = 0.01). The incidence rates of pulmonary complications were similar between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Multi-interventional PR program significantly improved the maximal inspiratory pressure, Borg scale score, and FEV/FVC ratio in the adult patients aged ≥65 years who had multimorbidity after undergoing CABG surgery.