Comparing the Effect of Incentive Spirometry with Acapella on Blood Gases in Physiotherapy After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Objective To compare the effect of incentive spirometry with Acapella (Smiths Medical Inc, Carlsbad, California) in physiotherapy after coronary artery bypass surgery. Methods A randomized controlled trial comparing incentive spirometry with Acapella was conducted in the intensive care unit of Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology (CPEIC) Multan. The study began from December 2017 to August 2019 after getting approval from the ethical committee of the hospital. Informed written consent was taken from all 270 patients who were included in the study. Patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) were divided into two groups by the lottery method. The primary end-point of the study was to check the blood gases on Day 3 after the procedure at room air and compare it with the baseline and with blood gases immediately after the procedure. SPSS 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) was used to analyze the data of this study. For qualitative variables in data such as gender, place of living, patients with any comorbidities, and education status were statistically analyzed in percentage and frequencies. For numerical variables, such as age, body mass index, blood gases values, distance covered in a six-minute walk test, and spirometry values were analyzed and statistically measured as mean and standard deviation. A P-value of less than .05 was considered significant. Results The mean partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) of incentive spirometry was 58.1±2.31 and 67.2±3.24 after extubation and after three days, respectively. While the PaO2 of Acapella was 56.3±3.43 and 66.4±3.54 after extubation and after three days, respectively. The mean PCO2 of incentive spirometry was 41.4±3.26 and 36.1±2.11 after extubation and after three days, respectively. While the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2) of Acapella was 39.4±2.55 and 37.5±3.58 after extubation and after three days, respectively. The differences were statistically significant at p-value ≤0.05. Conclusion It was concluded that both Acapella and incentive spirometry treatment after coronary artery bypass graft improved blood gases.