Influence of physiotherapeutic practice in mechanical ventilation process of patients admitted to the ICU overnight after non-complicated cardiac surgery

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to verify the influence of physical therapists on the mechanical ventilation process of patients who underwent non-complicated cardiac surgery admitted to the Cardiac ICU overnight. Documentary and retrospective study with adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery admitted to the ICU overnight from November 2010 to October 2011 with physiotherapeutic care for 12 hours (n=51), and from November 2011 to October 2012 with physiotherapeutic care for 24 hours (n=43), at the University Hospital of the Federal University of Maranhão. For statistical analysis, we used Chi-square, Student's t, and G tests; data were considered statistically significant when p<0.05. The duration of the mechanical ventilation was lower when physiotherapeutic care occurred at night (6.7±3.7 h vs. 8.7±3.1 h, p=0.02). In this same period, the number of patients extubated in less than 6 hours was also significantly higher (53.4% vs. 27.4%, p=0.0182), as well as the number of scheduled extubations (79% vs. 43.1%, p=0.009). The physiotherapeutic practice influenced the mechanical ventilation process of patients who underwent non-complicated cardiac surgery admitted to the ICU overnight, reducing the time of mechanical ventilation and increasing the number of extubations in less than 6 hours, as well as the number of extubations scheduled during the night.