Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Mar 2010
ReviewChest physiotherapy with positive expiratory pressure breathing after abdominal and thoracic surgery: a systematic review.
A variety of chest physiotherapy techniques are used following abdominal and thoracic surgery to prevent or reduce post-operative complications. Breathing techniques with a positive expiratory pressure (PEP) are used to increase airway pressure and improve pulmonary function. No systematic review of the effects of PEP in surgery patients has been performed previously. ⋯ Only one of the included trials showed any positive effects of PEP compared to other breathing techniques. Today, there is scarce scientific evidence that PEP treatment is better than other physiotherapy breathing techniques in patients undergoing abdominal or thoracic surgery. There is a lack of studies investigating the effect of PEP over placebo or no physiotherapy treatment.