Intervention effect of postoperative multimodal pulmonary rehabilitation training on lung cancer patients

Objective To investigate the postoperative pulmonary function status of lung cancer patients and explore the effects of early staged multimodal pulmonary rehabilitation training interventions. Methods A total of 100 lung cancer patients who underwent surgical resection at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from January 2020 to December 2021 were selected as subjects. They were divided into observation group and control group (50 cases in each) using a random number table method. The control group received conventional rehabilitation intervention, while the observation group received early staged multimodal pulmonary rehabilitation training on top of the control group’s regimen. Both groups continued their respective interventions until 3 months after discharge. The two groups were compared based on the following measures: pulmonary function including forced expiratory volume in first second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV); respiratory function including 6-minute walk test (6MWT) distance, post-6MWT respiratory rate, heart rate, and Borg dyspnea scale score; muscle strength via Medical Research Council (MRC) scale; and cancer-related fatigue frgured by the Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS) score. Results One-year post-surgery, the observation group had higher compliance with medical advice (healthy lifestyle, medication adherence, nutritional diet, weekly exercise) and lower incidence of chest tightness and shortness of breath compared to the control group, with higher FEV1/FVC and MVV values (P＜0.05). After three months of intervention, the observation group showed lower post-6MWT respiratory rate, post-6MWT heart rate, Borg dyspnea score, and PFS score compared to the control group (P＜0.01), and higher FEV1/FVC, MVV, 6MWT distance, and MRC scores (P＜0.01). Conclusion Implementing early staged multimodal pulmonary rehabilitation training intervention in postoperative care for lung cancer can promote the recovery of pulmonary function, improve respiratory function, enhance respiratory muscle strength, and reduce cancer-related fatigue.