Effects of respiratory function exercise on postoperative pulmonary infection and lung function in patients taking cardiothoracic surgery

Objective To investigate the effects of respiratory function exercise on postoperative pulmonary infection and lung function in patients taking cardiothoracic surgery. Methods 80 patients taking cardiothoracic surgery at our hospital from July, 2014 to September, 2016 were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, 40 cases for each group. The control group were given routine nursing intervention, while the observation group were given respiratory function exercise intervention. The indicators of lung function [forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second ( FEV1), and maximum inspiratory capacity (IC)], the indicators of blood gas analysis [arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaCO2), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2)], and complications (pulmonary infection and atelectasis) before and after the intervention were compared between the two groups. Results Before the intervention, there were no statistical differences in the levels of lung function indicators between the two groups (P>0.05). After the intervention, the FVC, FEV1, and IC in the observation group were (4.25±0.96)L, (3.72±1.01)L, and (2.78±0.80)L, which were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). After the intervention, the PaCO2 and SaO2 in the observation group were (98.54±1.23)% and (88.76±4.71)mmHg, which were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The incidences of pulmonary infection and atelectasis in the observation group were 5.00% and 2.50%, which were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Applying respiratory function exercise in postoperative nursing care for patients taking cardiothoracic surgery can decrease the incidence of pulmonary infection, improve the indicators of lung function, and shorten recovery time. Key words: Cardiothoracic surgery; Respiratory function exercise; Pulmonary infection; Lung function