Efficacy of Incentive Spirometer and Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise on the Alteration of Arterial Blood Gas Measures in Patients After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting. A Randomized Comparative Study

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is one of common treatment procedures performed worldwide. Evidence suggest that every year more than 1 million CABG procedure has been performed. Pulmonary complications are one of the most common consequence post CABG.

The incidence of atelectasis after heart operation with cardiopulmonary bypass is still 80-84% in spite of careful fluid & respiratory management. The basic problem in respiratory care of post-surgical patient is atelectasis leading to hypoxemia causing alteration in arterial blood gases (ABGs). Associated with atelectasis are widening alveolar - arterial O2 gradient (as right to left intrapulmonary shunting increases) decrease ventilation perfusion ratio, decrease functional residual capacity and decrease compliance. Chest physiotherapy is routinely used after major abdominal & cardiothoracic surgery to prevent these pulmonary complications following operation.

To date, there is a variable view about the effectiveness of these two primary breathing exercise techniques (incentive spirometer and diaphragmatic breathing exercise). 10-12 Hence an effort to systematically study the effectiveness of these is attempted. Thus, the current study aimed to determine the efficacy of incentive spirometer and diaphragmatic breathing exercises in addition to conventional chest physiotherapy on alteration of ABG measures in patients with post CABG. This study hypothesized that there will be a significant difference between the effect of the IS and DBE on ABG alteration in post CABG patients.