Physiotherapy in upper abdominal surgery – what is current practice in Australia?

Table 6 Factors limiting commencement of physiotherapy intervention

(n = 54)	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often	Always
Patient limiting factors
Pain (high VAS)	2	13	46	39	0
Level of ventilation/O₂ requirements	11	46	35	7	0
Decreased SpO₂	19	46	31	4	0
VO₂ max	54	39	7	0	0
FiO₂	20	54	22	4	0
Presence of spontaneous breathing	30	48	19	4	0
Abnormal respiratory rate	13	56	31	0	0
Reduced exercise tolerance/fitness	19	41	33	7	0
BORG	26	54	19	2	0
Blood pressure	4	13	59	24	0
Abnormal heart rate	7	39	43	9	2
ABGs	24	56	15	6	0
Number of attachments (catheter, IV drip, O₂ therapy)	41	48	7	4	0
BMI	24	56	17	4	0
Patient readiness	7	28	43	19	4
Anxiety level of patient	6	33	43	17	2
Physio judgement of medical stability	11	20	48	17	4
Fatigue	11	26	54	7	2
Other(s) please specify	78	7	13	2	0
General limiting factors
Physician instructions	7	35	46	9	2
Assistance required (mobility)	24	35	30	11	0
Availability of equipment	24	41	20	15	0
Availability of staff	15	31	37	15	2
Pressure to discharge from ward	20	41	31	6	2
Conflicts with MDT appointments	19	54	26	2	0
Other(s) (please specify)	87	6	7	0	0

Values expressed as %
VAS visual analogue scale, O ₂ oxygen, BMI body mass index, IV intravenous, BORG Borg Scale, SpO ₂ oxygen saturation, ABGs arterial blood gases, VO ₂ max maximal oxygen uptake, FiO ₂ fraction of inspired oxygen, MDT multi disciplinary team

ISSN: 2057-0082