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Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Inspiratory Muscle Training as an Adjunct to the Treatment of Weaning Failure in Critically Ill Patients: A Practical Guide
Published on: January 30, 2026
Feasibility of preoperative inspiratory muscle training in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery with a
Erik H J Hulzebos1, Nico L U van Meeteren, Bram J W M van den Buijs
1Section Rehabilitation, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. h.hulzebos@umcutrecht.nl
Objective:
To determine in a pilot study the feasibility and effects of preoperative inspiratory muscle training in patients at high risk of postoperative pulmonary complications who were scheduled for coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Design:
Single-blind, randomized controlled pilot study.
Setting:
University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Subjects:
Twenty-six patients at high risk of postoperative pulmonary complications were selected.
Intervention:
The intervention group (N = 14) received 2-4 weeks of preoperative inspiratory muscle training on top of the usual care received by the patients in the control group.
Main Measures:
Primary outcome variables of feasibility were the occurrence of adverse events, and patient satisfaction and motivation. Secondary outcome variables were postoperative pulmonary complications and length of hospital stay.
Results:
The feasibility of inspiratory muscle training was good and no adverse events were observed. Treatment satisfaction and motivation, scored on 10-point scales, were 7.9 (+/- 0.7) and 8.2 (+/- 1.0), respectively. Postoperative atelectasis occurred in significantly fewer patients in the intervention group than in the control group (kappa(2)(DF1) = 3.85; P = 0.05): Length of hospital stay was 7.93 (+/- 1.94) days in the intervention group and 9.92 (+/- 5.78) days in the control group (P = 0.24).
Conclusion:
Inspiratory muscle training for 2-4 weeks before coronary artery bypass graft surgery was well tolerated by patients at risk of postoperative pulmonary complications and prevented the occurrence of atelectasis in these patients. A larger randomized clinical trial is warranted.
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