Study protocol
In the pre-surgical period, the following variables were individually assessed in all patients: pulmonary function, ventilatory muscle strength, peak flow and functional capacity. The pulmonary function variables evaluated were vital capacity and peak expiratory flow. Muscle strength through maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP). And, for functional capacity, the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) was used.
As predicted, the day after the evaluation, the patients were referred to the operating room and, after the procedure, they were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). On the second postoperative day (POD), patients were randomized by simple drawing: there were both options on folded papers and someone working at the unit was asked to take a paper to draw.
Thus, these patients were assigned to one of the groups, namely: inspiratory muscle training group (IG) and the control group (CG). The IG had the MIP evaluated and 40% of the value found in each patient was used. To offer the load, the PowerBreathe device (PowerBreathe Medical Classic) was used. All patients included in this study performed 30 daily repetitions, divided into two shifts, 15 in the morning and 15 in the afternoon, every day until hospital discharge, in which all variables were reevaluated.
The CG evaluated in the preoperative period was submitted to interventions, such as: breathing exercises, ambulation, cycle ergometry, changes in decubitus, active or active assisted kinesiotherapy that were already performed according to the hospital protocol. All patients were reassessed at discharge. It is worth mentioning that all evaluations were made by a blind examiner.