Respiratory muscle training and aerobic exercise can improve respiratory vital capacity and activities of daily living after surgery in patients with myasthenia gravis, thereby enhancing recovery, according to a new study published in the Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
It is unclear whether respiratory muscle training before surgery has a positive effect on surgical complications in patients with myasthenia gravis.
Read more about treatments for myasthenia gravis
In the present study, a team of researchers from China assessed the effect of moderate to intense preoperative respiratory muscle training and aerobic exercises on exercise capacity, respiratory vital capacity, and duration of hospital stay when added to respiratory physiotherapy in patients with myasthenia gravis undergoing thymectomy.
The team analyzed 80 patients with myasthenia gravis who were scheduled for extended thymectomy. Half of these patients received moderate to intense respiratory muscle training and aerobic exercises in addition to respiratory physiotherapy before the operation, while the other half received only chest physiotherapy.
The results showed that vital capacity, forced vital capacity, forced vital capacity in the first second, peak expiratory flow, and 6-minute walk distance were significantly lower after the operation than before surgery in patients treated with chest physiotherapy alone. There was no significant difference in the ratio of forced vital capacity in the first second to forced vital capacity before and after the operation.
The vital capacity, forced vital capacity, forced vital capacity in the first second, and peak expiratory flow after the operation were significantly higher in patients who received moderate to intense respiratory muscle training and aerobic exercise in addition to respiratory physiotherapy than in those who received physiotherapy only. However, there was no difference in 6-minute walk distance between the 2 groups of patients.
Finally, the activities of daily living score on day 5 after the operation was significantly higher in patients who received respiratory muscle training and aerobic exercise than in those who did not.
Reference
Chen S, Li X, Wu Y, et al. Preoperative respiratory muscle training combined with aerobic exercise improves respiratory vital capacity and daily life activity following surgical treatment for myasthenia gravis. J Cardiothorac Surg. Published online April 24, 2023. doi:10.1186/s13019-023-02283-5
