EFFECT OF COUGH-ASSIST ON RESPIRATORY COMPLICATIONS IN PATIENTS UNDER THORACIC SURGERY

Respiratory complications are the most complicated problems after the surgery,
especially thoracic surgery that changes the lung performance. Therefore, the present study has been
done with the aim of survying the effects of cough-assist on the respiratory complications in patients
under thoracic surgery in Imam Khomeini educational-therapeutic center, Urmia.
Materials & Methods: This study was an experimental research. The subjects under the study were 60
patients hospitalized in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia with the age range of 35-64 years old. The
subjects have been chosen by sequential sampling, and they were allocated randomly into two groups
of intervention (30) and control (30). In the intervention group, the cough-assist was used, while the
control group recived routine care. The data collection tools were demographic form plus a form to
write the results of physical examination, and respiratory complications observation. For data analysis,
SPSS version 16, descriptive and inferential statistics such as chi-square, and T-test were used.
Results: The study showed that in control group 66.50 percent of respiratory complication were
observed, while in intervention group this figure was 16.70 percent. Respiratory complications
between two groups had significant difference (p>0/05), so the patients in intervention group had
relatively low percentage of respiratory complications.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that using Cough-Assist could
decrease the incidence of respiratory complications in patients under thoracic surgery