Why hospitals continue use incentive spirometry

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I was recently reading that new studies shows that incentive spirometry have not shown to decrease pulmonary complications after cardiac or abdominal surgeries.The studies also revealed that deep breathing and coughing is just as effective as is incentive spirometry.

Show us this literature that you were reading.

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

I work on a medical floor and have been seeing lots of seasonal asthmatic's and pneumonia pts (peds). If the pt's are up and walking around, I don't push incentive spirometry, but if they are on bedrest or just not moving that much, I absolutely do. I too, feel that it is effective in encouraging deep breathing, which, in turn, helps my pts get better and go home sooner.

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, ED, Nurse Instructor,.

If the IS used properly the patient may cough, which is good for the lungs. It helps the patient to have a goal to work towards.

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If incentive spirometry was "not shown to decrease pulmonary complications" and deep breathing and coughing is "just as effective" as incentive spirometry....then both are equally ineffective?

I am pretty sure that is not what you meant to say. Can you provide the authors and publications for the studies you are citing?

*bumped*

Can you clarify?

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

Because the facility can bill the patient for both the incentive spirometry and if done by respiratory therapist the RT's time.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

The answer is right in the name of the device. it's called an incentive spirometer because it give feed back and lets a patient see if their breathing is effective. Sure, coughing and deep breathing is great, but people are very result riented. If they can't see that something is effective (like taking a deep breath) they will exert little effort.

FTR - I'm also of the mindset that a pinwheel or bottle of bubbles works just as well - but i'm also a kid at heart! I've made up many the get well bakset with a pinwheel and note to use it!

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I have to say, i've needed deep breathing excercises before when i had Pneumonia and if not for the incentive spirometry i probably would not have done anything. It's a lot easier knowing that you have to do something, and having a tool at your fingertips that will make it easier to do so!!!

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Because the facility can bill the patient for both the incentive spirometry and if done by respiratory therapist the RT's time.

Yep that is what.

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Specializes in multispecialty ICU, SICU including CV.

A lot of people have commented on this, but yeah, what study are you reading? It has always been my impression that yes, incentive spirometry works, it is evidence-based, etc. I am quite sure that it works better as a respiratory prophylaxis therapy than doing nothing, which is likely where the original people that developed it got their data. Does it work better than coughing/deep breathing? Who knows, who cares. It's a widely accepted, ordered, standard therapy that can and does work. Getting rid of IS would probably save hospitals some cash, sure, but then they would have to retrain all the nurses and RTs on how to coach people through effectively coughing and deep breathing, AND monitor hospital acquired pneumonias at the same time. Because of that, I don't think IS is going anywhere anytime soon.

At my facility, there is a new push to use BiPAP as a lung expansion therapy, which I absolutely cannot stand. The patients hate going on it for a few hours, it's more invasive, there is a big piece of equipment to deal with, and to this day, I don't think anyone has studied this (any one else out there knows, or is seeing this?) These docs seem to be doing their own experiment, I think, and I do NOT think that this in particular works better than IS and generally promoting pulmonary hygeine. But again, not studied (that I am aware of), so who knows.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

People need tools to remind them and to show them progress. The balls show the patient if they are deep breathing effectively. Personally I like them because I do not want to continually go in the room and say "deep breath" over and over...typically the "your aveoli look like grapes and if you do not use this they will look like raisins" results in me hearing the balls rise and fall from the nurses station.

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well I have read this in one of the nursing books.

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well I have read this in one of the nursing books.

What book?

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