Postoperative continuous positive airway pressure to prevent pneumonia, re-intubation, and death after major abdominal surgery (PRISM): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial

Long-term mortality following complications after elective surgery: a secondary analysis of pooled data from two prospective cohort studies

“…Recent studies have failed to find benefit with routine postoperative CPAP or noninvasive ventilation to prevent pneumonia and respiratory failure. 34 , 35 Infective complications were the most common, affecting one in 20 patients, and were associated with a one in 10 rate of death after 1 yr. However, growing evidence suggests only marginal benefit from liberal antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent postoperative infection.…”

Comparing the effects of continuous positive airway pressure via mask or helmet interface on oxygenation and pulmonary complications after major abdominal surgery: a randomized trial

“…Several studies have demonstrated the benefits of prophylactic and therapeutic CPAP compared with respiratory physiotherapy and oxygen therapy following abdominal surgery (e.g., shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and reduced morbidity) [ 4 – 6 ]. However, a recent report contradicted these findings and presented no difference in postoperative morbidity between CPAP or standard postoperative care [ 16 ]. However, this report included a broader definition of major surgery than that of the current study and a shorter treatment length (at least 4 h) than that presented by Ferreyra et al [ 4 ].…”

The role of prophylactic administration of CPAP in general surgical wards after open visceral surgery in reducing postoperative pneumonia—a retrospective cohort study

“…Literature has shown a host of clinical trials and attempts to reduce the rates of PPC [11][12][13]. Besides sufficient pain management, respiratory physiotherapy plays a major role in the routine recovery of surgical patients.…”