Aim
The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the active cycle of breathing techniques (ACBT) in pain reduction and in preventing pulmonary complications in patients with rib fractures.
Materials-Methods
Ninety (90) patients with rib fractures, aged from 45 to 75 years, (58.02, ± 9.55) were randomly assigned to the ACBT group (N = 45, performed the ACBT trial) and control group (N = 45). All patients received routine physiotherapy for 7 days. The dependent variables were: pain score during cough, body temperature and the number of white blood cells (WBC).
Results
Multivariate analyses (2 × 7 MANOVA) were used for statistical analyses. Significant multivariate interaction between group and time was found (p <.05). The univariate post hoc analysis determined significant interaction for the pain (p <.01) and the number of WBC (p <.01). No significant interaction was found for body temperature (p >.05). Further significant pain differences between the two groups were evident on day 3 (p <.05), day 4 (p <.01), day 5 (p <.01), day 6 (p <.01) and day 7 (p <.01).
Conclusion
Overall, the ACBT appeared to reduce pain in patients with rib fractures but did not prevent pulmonary complications compared to routine physiotherapy