The purpose of this evidence-based nursing practice document is to discuss the effectiveness of deep breathing exercises in the care of a patient who has recently undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). It will also analyze two professional research studies on this topic and answer three essential questions about each study. What are the results of the study? Are the study results valid? How are the results clinically relevant to this patient? The patient, who will be referred to as Mr. Doe in this article, is a 58-year-old male with coronary artery disease. His medical history includes angina, shortness of breath, type II diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia. He was scheduled for CABG surgery, which was performed on February 4 of this year (Mr. Doe, personal communication). Two days after surgery, Mr. Doe regularly complained of pain and nausea, for which he was treated by a doctor. pump for patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and with intravenous drugs. He had decreased breath sounds in the right and left upper lobes, and his O2 saturation was stable at 94%. He was reluctant to ambulate early in the morning, stating that the nausea was too severe and that the medications “made him too dizzy” (Mr. Doe, personal communication). It was also difficult to get Mr. Doe to do deep breathing exercises every hour due to nausea, but he did them when asked by the nurse and was reminded how important these exercises are in preventing complications. Deep breathing exercises are very useful and important after any surgery. Current research states that “postoperative hypoventilation may be a problem after abdominal or thoracic surgery if pain prevents the patient from… half of the paper… patients. Works Cited Pruitt, B. (2006). Help your patient combat postoperative atelectasis. Nursing 2006, 36(5), Retrieved February 17, 2010, from CINAHL with full text database. Stiller, K., Montarello, J., Wallace, M., Daff, M., Grant, R., Jenkins, S., Hall, B., & Yates, H. (1994). Effectiveness of breathing and coughing exercises in preventing pulmonary complications after coronary artery surgery. American College of Chest Physicians, 105(3), 741-747. Retrieved from http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/105/3/741.Westerdahl, E., Lindmark, B., Eriksson, T., Friberg, O., Hedenstierna, G., & Tenling, A. (2005). Deep breathing exercises reduce atelectasis and improve lung function after coronary artery bypass surgery. American College of Chest Physicians, 128(5). Retrieved from http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/128/5/3482.full.html.