Abstract: Objective To explore the effects of active cycle of breathing technique (ACBT) on postoperative cardiopulmonary function in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods NSCLC patients who were admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 were selected and divided into control group (n=105) and observation group (n=106) according to the order of hospitalization. Traditional lung physical therapy was adopted in the control group to instruct patients to exercise respiratory function after operation, and in the observation group ACBT together with traditional therapy was applied. The difference of forced expiratory volume (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow (PEF), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), first expectoration time, pulmonary complications and other indicators were compared between the two groups. Results The postoperative lung function of patients in observation group (including FEV1, FVC and PEF) and the 6MWT were superior to those in the control group on the day of discharge and on the 30th day after operation(P<0.05). The first expectoration time of the observation group,the chest tube retention time and postoperative hospital stay were significantly shorter in the observation group than those in the control group(P<0.05). Conclusion ACBT can significantly improve the cardiopulmonary function of patients after non-small cell lung cancer surgery, promote early and efficient removal of patients' airway secretions, shorten chest tube retention time, reduce the incidence of pulmonary complications, and promote rapid recovery of patients.

Key words: non-small cell lung cancer, respiratory function exercise, active cycle of breathing technique, cardiopulmonary function, pulmonary complication