Perioperative respiratory physiotherapy in patients with thoracic tumors: Summary of best evidence and recommendations

Abstract

Objective

To summarize the best evidence-based perioperative respiratory physiotherapy strategies for patients with thoracic tumors and to provide a reference for clinical practice.

Methods

The review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A systematic search of evidence on the perioperative respiratory physiotherapy in patients with thoracic tumors was performed in computerized decision systems, guideline websites, professional association websites, and comprehensive databases from the date of creation to 30 April 2024. The types of evidence included were clinical decisions, guidelines, expert consensuses, evidence summaries, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Two independent researchers evaluated the quality of the literature and extracted and summarized the included evidence.

Results

A total of 24 articles were included for analysis, comprising one clinical decision, three guidelines, four expert consensuses, two evidence summaries, and 14 systematic reviews. The overall quality of the literature was high. Thirty-seven pieces of evidence were summarized, focusing on four areas: assessment, preoperative respiratory physiotherapy strategies, postoperative respiratory physiotherapy strategies, and home-based management.

Conclusions

This study synthesizes the best evidence on implementing perioperative respiratory physiotherapy in patients with thoracic tumors, providing a reference for clinical practice. More comprehensive and high-quality guidance documents focused on home-based management of respiratory physiotherapy are needed.

Systematic review registration

This study was registered at the Fudan University Centre for Evidence-based Nursing (Registration No. ES20245066).