Komal Javed, Rehana Niazi, Aleena Waheed, Nida Rasheed, Samim Khalil, Ifra Zulqarnain Awan.
Effects of Physical Therapy in Preventing Complications of Postoperative Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.
Healer J Physiotherap Rehab Jun ;3(6):578-86.

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting is a surgical treatment to provide alternate blood supply to heart tissues in people with coronary artery disease. Many complications can arise after bypass grafting. Chest and limb physiotherapy is used after surgery to decrease complications. Objective: To determine the effects of physical therapy in the prevention of postoperative coronary artery bypass grafting complications. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted six months after the approval of the synopsis at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. Permission from the ethics committee of Rashid Latif Medical College was obtained. The sample size was calculated using Open Epi software. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 98 post-operative coronary artery bypass grafting patients were allocated into two equal groups (49 each), using non-probability convenience sampling. Subjects with related neurological and psychiatric conditions such as stroke, dementia, and cardiac pacemakers as well as abnormalities in blood pressure, pulse, and electrocardiogram were excluded. Group A was treated with chest and limb physiotherapy and incentive spirometry and Group B was treated with a spirometer only. Demographic data were obtained from the self-made questionnaire. The severity of pain was assessed using a numeric pain rating scale. Qualitative variables were shown in frequency tables and percentages. The independent t-test was selected to apply for measuring the difference between two groups. The quantitative variables were shown in mean and standard deviation. Results: Using an independent sample t-test, the outcomes of the present study showed that the mean change of oxygen saturation after physiotherapy in Group A was 98.69 +- 0.86 and Group B was 97.35 +- 1.34 with p-value <0.001 which is statistically significant. The total balance plus gait score after physiotherapy in Group A was 25.71 +- 3.40 and Group B was 23.06 +- 2.32 with p-value <0.001 which is statistically significant. Conclusion: The effectiveness of chest and limb physical therapy in the prevention of post-operative coronary artery bypass grafting complications has proved significant. A marked improvement in oxygen saturation, mobility of patients, and stay in the intensive care unit was seen. Although the rates of atelectasis and other pulmonary problems are statistically insignificant, physiotherapy improved their outcomes which means they are clinically significant.

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