Abstract

Preoperative respiratory muscle training (RMT) for patients undergoing surgical treatment for myasthenia gravis (MG) has not been shown to improve postoperative complications. The purpose of this research was to analyse the effects of RMT and aerobic exercise on respiration, physical activity, and hospital stay in patients with MG prior to surgery. Methods: Ninety patients with MG who were having a prolonged thymectomy were split into two groups at random. In the SG, 45 participants underwent preoperative moderate-to-intense RMT in addition to aerobic exercise and respiratory physiotherapy, while the CG received only chest physiotherapy. Patients' vital capacities (VC, FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and PEF) and exercise capacities (6-minute walk test [6 MWT]) were assessed prior to surgery, during recovery, and immediately prior to discharge. Both length of hospital stay and "activities of daily living" (ADL) scores were calculated. Result: Vital capacity, exercise capacity, and demographic and surgical characteristics were similar across the two groups before surgery. While the FEV1/FVC ratio did not change significantly from pre- to post-op in the CG, all measures of lung function (VC, FVC, FEV1, PEF, and 6MWT) were significantly worse after surgery (p=0.001). After surgery, the SG had significantly better VC, FVC, FEV1, and PEF than the CG did (p=0.012, 0.030, 0.014, and 0.035 respectively), while having similar 6MWT results. On day 5 post-op, SG ADL was significantly greater than CG ADL (p=0.001). Conclusion: Recovery from surgery for people with MG can speed up with the help of respiratory muscle training (RMT) and aerobic exercise.

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