Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Perioperative Thirst Management Interventions

Perioperative thirst is a frequently reported and discomforting symptom in surgical patients, yet it remains underprioritized in clinical care, highlighting the need for evidence-based nursing interventions.

The aims of this study were to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of various nonpharmacological nursing interventions in reducing perioperative thirst severity.

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and registered with PROSPERO (CRD420251065306). Databases including PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and three others were searched through May 2025. Seventeen randomized controlled trials involving 1,771 participants were included. Interventions were classified as iced menthol, ice, menthol, or water. The primary outcome was thirst severity, analyzed using mean difference with a 95% confidence interval. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were performed using a mixed-effects model.

Thirst management interventions were found to significantly reduce thirst severity compared with control conditions. Subgroup analyses suggested that iced menthol, ice, menthol, and room-temperature water interventions were all effective in alleviating thirst. However, meta-regression analysis indicated no meaningful differences between intervention types, suggesting that the presence of an intervention rather than its specific type was the primary factor associated with thirst reduction.

These findings suggest that, in the management of perioperative thirst, the implementation of evidence-based, nonpharmacological nursing interventions is more critical than the specific type of intervention. The study supports integrating timely thirst management strategies into routine perioperative nursing care to improve patient comfort and care quality.