Effects of a Physiotherapeutic Protocol in Respiratory Function,Aerobic Capacity and Quality of Life After Kidney Transplantation

Introduction

Chronic kidney disease can lead to dysfunction of the respiratory, cardiac, and musculoskeletal systems, altering the body's metabolism. Renal transplantation and hospital physiotherapy, through specific protocols, can improve these dysfunctions.

Objectives

This study evaluates the impact of a hospital physiotherapeutic protocol in quality of life (QoL), respiratory muscle strength, peak expiratory flow, and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) in the preoperative, first, and fifth days after renal transplantation.

Methods

We evaluated 39 patients who received a renal transplant at Clinics Hospital of University of Campinas for respiratory muscle strength, expiratory peak flow, and functional capacity by the 6MWT. The short form–36 quality of life questionnaire was applied to 12 patients.

Results

We observed a significant reduction in respiratory muscle strength and peak expiratory flow in the first postoperative day. On postoperative day 5, there was improvement in respiratory muscle strength and expiratory peak flow. However, aerobic capacity measured by 6MWT remained below predicted. Analysis of QoL showed an improvement in almost all analyzed domains after transplantation.

Conclusion

A specific physiotherapeutic protocol applied early after transplantation provided recovery of respiratory muscle strength and QoL. However, longer training is necessary to obtain adequate aerobic rehabilitation.