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.