Is respiratory physiotherapy effective on pulmonary complications after lobectomy for lung cancer?

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a postoperative respiratory physiotherapy program on pulmonary complications, length of hospital stay, and hospital cost after lobectomy for lung cancer.

A total of 90 patients (75 males, 15 females; mean age 63.1±10.4 years; range, 30 to 82 years) who underwent elective lobectomy through thoracotomy due to lung cancer between June 2014 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups as Group S who received standard postoperative care (n=50) and Group P who received postoperative respiratory physiotherapy in addition to standard care (n=40). Both groups were compared in terms of postoperative pulmonary complications, 30-day mortality, length of hospital stay, and hospital cost.

The preoperative and surgical characteristics of the groups were similar. Group P had a lower incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (10% vs. 38%, respectively; p=0.002) than Group S. The median length of stay in the hospital was six (range, 4 to 12) days in Group P and seven (range, 4 to 40) days in Group S (p=0.001). The drug cost (639.70 vs. 1,211.46 Turkish Liras, respectively; p=0.001) and the total hospital cost (2,031.10 vs. 3,778.68 Turkish Liras, respectively; p=0.001) of the patients in Group P were significantly lower. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that respiratory physiotherapy had a protective effect on the development of postoperative pulmonary complications (odds ratio =0.063, 95% confidence interval: 0.010-0.401, p=0.003).

An intensive physiotherapy program focusing on respiratory exercises is a cost-effective practice which reduces the risk of development of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing lobectomy for lung cancer.