Pulmonary function and complication prevention: A randomized controlled trial on lung expansion modalities of older adults undergoing upper abdominal surgery.

Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are a major catastrophic consequence of upper abdominal surgery, resulting in morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the study aims to assess the effect of lung expansion modalities (LEMs) on older adults' pulmonary function and the incidence of pulmonary complications. The study randomly allocated 80 older adults (40 cases and 40 controls). Pulmonary function testing revealed a significant improvement in the study group's forced expiratory volume in one second, sixth second, and oxygen saturation on the fifth postoperative day (POD) compared to the first day [55.23%, 38.41%, and 2.87%; P0.001]. The reported PPCs incidence of the intervention group was less than the control group (15% and 30% on the third POD; 15% and 37.5% on the fifth POD). In conclusion, LEMs provide practical enhancement for the postoperative care of older adults by reducing PPCs by restoring measured pulmonary volumes.