Frequency of the clinical indicators of ‘ineffective airway clearance’ among patients after coronary artery bypass grafting at tertiary care hospitals Karachi, Pakistan.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of the clinical indicators of ineffective airway clearance among patients after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting at tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Dow University Hospital (DUH), Ojha Campus, and Tabba Heart Institute (THI) Karachi. Period: December 2019 to July 2020. Material & Methods: A total of 113 patients were enrolled after CABG surgery through purposive sampling nine clinical indicators were assessed in post-CABG patients for the presence of Ineffective Airway Clearance (IAC). A data collection tool with demographic variables and nine clinical indicators (defining characteristics) of IAC was used. The association of clinical indicators with IAC was determined through the Fisher Exact Test. Results: The mean age of study patients was 57.50± 9.107 years. IAC was found in 105 (92.9%) patients in post-CABG surgery patients within 24 hours of intubating of the ventilator. The most frequent clinical indicator was adventitious breath sounds (ABS) which has shown up in 90 (79.6%) patients of the study population. The majority of the indicators were found to be statistically significantly associated with IAC. Conclusion: This study concludes high incidence of IAC 92.2% among the study population of post CABG patients. The most frequent clinical indicator were ABS, excessive sputum, and ineffective cough.