Effect of Pulmonary Interventions on Hospitalization and Quality of Recovery among Elderly Patients Undergoing Upper Abdominal Surgery

Main Article Content

Eman Shokry Abd. Allah et. al

Abstract

Background: Elderly patients after upper abdominal surgery experience postoperative respiratory compromise, which is not only leading to pulmonary complications but also contribute to longer hospital stay and a delayed post-operative recovery. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of pulmonary interventions on hospitalization and quality of recovery among elderly patients undergoing upper abdominal surgery. Subjects and methods: A quasi-experimental design was used, where 80 older adults (40 cases & 40 controls) were enrolled using purposive sampling technique from Zagazig University Hospitals. Three tools were used to collect data they were: An Interview Questionnaire composed of three parts (demographic data, medical and surgical history, and current surgical profile), Observational checklist for patients’ practice, and Postoperative Recovery Profile questionnaire. Results: The elderly in the control group stayed in the hospital longer than those in the study group, with the mean number of days being 9.4±2.0 and 11.9±4.0 days, respectively. In addition, a statistically significant difference (P=0.024) was revealed regarding the mean score of postoperative recovery in the study and control groups (12.7±3.8, 10.7±4.1) respectively. Explicitly, half of the elderly in the study group were fully or almost recovered two months after surgery, compared to 27.5% of those in the control group.


Conclusion: Application of structured pulmonary interventions facilitate recovery from surgery by preventing or remediating postoperative complications, which further decreased length of the hospital stay and assist with a return to normal activities of daily living and function post upper abdominal surgery.

Article Details

Section
Articles