INTROCUDTION: After cardiac surgery, patients have a limitation in respiratory muscle strength, which favors the appearing of pulmonary complications. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on the painful process and respiratory muscle strength in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). METHODS: The study included patients after on-pump CABG through sternotomy, general anesthesia, without being under the influence of neuromuscular blockade, with use of chest and mediastinal tubes, and extubation within 6 hours after the procedure and presenting index equal to or greater than three visual analog scale (VAS) of pain being on the first day after surgery. We recruited 20 patients divided into two groups with no predominance of sex: the control group (n = 10), who received more physiotherapy analgesic therapy, and TENS group received analgesic therapy, physiotherapy and TENS. The TENS was applied for 30 minutes, three times a day, a 3-hour period each application. RESULTS: For the degree of pain, there was an average start and end, respectively, 7.0/1.0 for the TENS group and 7.0/8.0 for the control group. For inspiratory muscle strength, -102.5 cmH2O/-141.17 cmH2O to the TENS group and -97.0 cmH2O/-100.3 cmH2O for control. The expiratory muscle strength, 63 cmH2O/125 cmH2O for the TENS group and 55.3 cmH2O/53.2 cmH2O for the control group. CONCLUSIONS: TENS has shown significant effectiveness in reducing pain, and the increase in respiratory muscle strength at first-day after CABG surgery.

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