Effect of Combination of Acapella Device and Breathing Exercises on Treatment of Pulmonary Complications After Upper Abdominal Surgeries

Introduction: Background. Upper abdominal surgery alters postoperative pulmonary function, as observed by impairment of lung volumes such as total lung capacity, vital capacity. Impaired clearance of sputum results in a vicious cycle of colonization and infection of bronchi with pathogenic organisms, dilation of bronchi and further production of sputum. The aim was to investigate the effect of combination of Acapella device and breathing exercises on treatment of post operative pulmonary complications after upper abdominal surgeries. Subjects and methods: Sixty patients underwent upper abdominal surgery were assigned randomly into two equal groups; their ages ranged from 20-50 years. The study group received breathing exercises, Acapella device and traditional chest physical therapy program (postural drainage. percussion, vibration, cough training and early ambulation). Control group received traditional chest physical therapy program (postural drainage. percussion, vibration, cough training and early ambulation). All groups received three sessions per week for four successful weeks. The data were collected before and after the same period of treatment for both groups. Evaluation procedures were carried out to measure pulmonary function: Forced vital capacity (FVC) and Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) using electronic spirometer. Results: Post treatment results showed that there was a significant improvement difference in FVC and FEV1 in both groups in favor of the study group. Percentage of improvement of FVC in the study group was 42.28%, while it was 16.31%in the control group. Percentage of improvement of FEV1 in the study group was 49.05%, while it was 20.79%in the control group. Conclusion: Combination of Acapella device and breathing exercises were considered to be an effective modality for treatment of postoperative pulmonary complications and removal of secretions after upper abdominal surgeries.