Background: This study aims to investigate the effects of
different respiratory expansion methods such as forced coughing,
triflow exercise, balloon inflating, and walking on respiratory
function tests including pulse rate, time to complete pulmonary
expansion, and time to remove the chest tube in patients fitted
with a chest tube due to primary spontaneous pneumothorax.
Methods: This prospective study included 40 consecutive
primary spontaneous pneumothorax patients (34 males,
6 females; mean age 26.6 years; range 16 to 60 years).
All patients were performed tube thoracostomy between the
midaxillary line and the sixth or seventh intercostal space.
Patients were randomly divided into four groups with 10 patients
in each as the triflow group, the balloon group, the treadmill
group, and the control group. Different respiratory exercise
methods were applied to obtain pulmonary expansion and
adherence of parietal and visceral pleural layers.
Results: The groups were statistically similar in respect to age,
sex, weight, height, body mass index, and side of pneumothorax.
The groups' average time to complete pulmonary expansion and
duration of air leakage were similar.
Conclusion: Our study results demonstrate no significant
difference between administration of forced coughing alone
and other respiratory exercises plus forced coughing in terms of
respiratory function tests in patients fitted with a chest tube due
to primary spontaneous pneumothorax.