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Use of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation to Alleviate Thirst After Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Hsiu-Ling Yang1, Fu-Chao Liu2, Pei-Kwei Tsay3
1Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, R.O.C; School of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Purpose:
This prospective study investigated the preventive effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for postoperative thirst.
Design:
This experimental study was conducted with the CONSORT checklist.
Methods:
A total of 105 surgical patients who received general anesthesia were recruited from a medical center. Each patient was randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 53; 20 min of TENS) or the control group (n = 52; routine care). In each group, oral moisture wetness was measured at 1 min, 20 min, and 50 min post-surgery. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square test, t test, one-way ANOVA, and generalized estimating equation (GEE) regression analysis) were performed to assess the proposed relationships.
Findings:
The two groups showed similar characteristics at baseline. The oral moisture wetness was significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group at each post-surgery assessment time (all P < .001). The GEE results showed that patients in the experimental group reported more oral moisture wetness than patients in the control group.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrated that TENS can reduce thirst reported by patients after general anesthesia. Thus, this method may have clinical applications for managing postoperative thirst.
