Abstract

Study Objective: Comparative Study of Breathing Techniques after Coronary Artery by Pass Grafting Design: A randomized trial. Method and Measurements: The effectiveness of three deep breathing techniques was evaluated in 30 male patientsafter coronary artery bypass graft in a randomized trial. Patient were randomly and equally assigned to Blow bottle(group A), IR-PEP (group B), and deep breathing (group C). The techniques were deep breathing with a blow bottle-device, Inspiratory resistance-positive expiratory pressure mask (IR-PEP) and performed with no mechanical device.Pulmonary function and roentgenological changes were evaluated. Results: No significant differences found between all three groups except for a longer duration of anesthesia in thegroup B than the group C. Pain from the sternotomy measured by VAS while the patient take a deep breath showingno significant difference between the group A (2.6± 1.8), Group B (2.8 ± 2.1) and Group (2.4 ± 2.2). Conclusion: There were no major differences between the three treatment groups on the fourth post-operative day. The relative decrease in pulmonary function tended to be less marked by chest physiotherapy using the Blowbottle technique than by Deep breathing without any mechanical device and the technique was at least as good as theIR-PEP technique. The Blow bottle is furthermore an inexpensive method that will be well accepted and easilylearned by patients, and works as well as more complex techniques. However, a technique that offers even bettersupervision and the assistance of a deep inspiration with optimal continuance may prevent further lung functiondeterioration.