Pulmonary function and complication prevention: A randomized controlled trial on lung expansion modalities of older adults undergoing upper abdominal surgery.

Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are a major catastrophic consequence of upper abdominal surgery, resulting in morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the study aims to assess the effect of lung expansion modalities (LEMs) on older adults' pulmonary function and the incidence of pulmonary complications. The study randomly allocated 80 older adults (40 cases and 40 controls). Pulmonary function testing revealed a significant improvement in the study group's forced expiratory volume in one second, sixth second, and oxygen saturation on the fifth postoperative day (POD) compared to the first day [55.23%, 38.41%, and 2.87%; P0.001]. The reported PPCs incidence of the intervention group was less than the control group (15% and 30% on the third POD; 15% and 37.5% on the fifth POD). In conclusion, LEMs provide practical enhancement for the postoperative care of older adults by reducing PPCs by restoring measured pulmonary volumes.

Nutritional Status and Its Contributing Factors among Older Adults with Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy.

The study aimed to assess nutritional status and its contributing factors among older adults with cancer receiving chemotherapy so, a descriptive study design was used. The study was conducted at Zagazig University Hospitals, Egypt. The study's sample was selected purposively which composed of 194 older adults. Nutritional status was measured by the Arabic version of the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA). Contributing factors were identified by examining the relationship of nutritional status with demographic and clinical variables. Study results revealed that 33% of the older patients were malnourished and 51.5% were at risk for malnutrition. Statistically significant relations were found between nutritional status and advanced age, illiteracy, insufficient monthly income, comorbidities, cancer stage four at diagnosis, and receiving ≥4 chemotherapy cycles. High prevalence of malnutrition and many contributing factors were identified among older patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy. So, continuous malnutrition screening along chemotherapy courses with special concern for contributing factors assessed in this study is recommended.