An observational study on effect of breathing exercise on quality of recovery among postoperative patients

 Breathing exercises after surgery are crucial in avoiding respiratory complications. These exercises have proven highly effective in improving the recovery quality of post-operative patients. Despite their widespread use in patient care, there is a lack of scientific evidence to prove their effectiveness. Therefore, the current study aims to evaluate the influence of deep breathing exercises on the quality of postoperative recovery in the patients who have undergone emergency surgery.

 A randomized controlled trial was performed to evaluate the efficiency of deep breathing exercises in post-operative patients who had emergency surgery. The study included 200 participants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, with 100 assigned to the experimental group as Group-A and 100 to the control group as Group-B. The patients in the experimental group were taught and practiced deep breathing exercises, while those in the control group received standard treatment. Data were gathered and analysed to compare the SpO2 level, FVC, FEV1, PEFR, FMEF 25/75%, hospital stay, postoperative complications, and quality of recovery between the two groups. SPSS v.21 was used for the appropriate statistical analysis to check statistical differences between the proportions, and p˂0.05 considered statistically significant.

 The FEV1, FVC, and PFER (25-75%) reduced and did not differ significantly between the two groups, whereas SpO2 level at the 5th day and hospital stay were significantly different in Group-B. Patient with deep breathing exercise (Group-B) did not develop any respiratory complication and had a higher postoperative quality of recovery as compared to Group-A.

 We found that that incorporating deep breathing exercises after surgery can also increase lung capacity, prevent post-operative complications, shorten recovery time, and enhance overall quality of life.