Use of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation to Alleviate Thirst After Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Hsiu-Ling Yang; Fu-Chao Liu; Pei-Kwei Tsay; An-Hsun Chou; Chih-Chung Lin; Huang-Ping Yu; Hui-Chuan Jao; Hsueh-Erh Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jopan.2022.07.010

Use of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation to Alleviate Thirst After Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

J Perianesth Nurs. 2023 Apr;38(2):291-296. doi: 10.1016/j.jopan.2022.07.010. Epub 2022 Dec 1.

Authors

Hsiu-Ling Yang¹, Fu-Chao Liu², Pei-Kwei Tsay³, An-Hsun Chou⁴, Chih-Chung Lin⁴, Huang-Ping Yu⁴, Hui-Chuan Jao⁵, Hsueh-Erh Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, R.O.C; School of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
² Department of Anesthesiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, R.O.C; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
³ College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, R.O.C.
⁵ Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, R.O.C.
⁶ School of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C; Department of Rheumatology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, R.O.C; Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C. Electronic address: sarah@mail.cgu.edu.tw.

PMID: 36464571
DOI: 10.1016/j.jopan.2022.07.010

Abstract

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.

Keywords: TENS; cholecystectomy; general anesthesia; oral moisture wetness; postoperative thirst.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Prospective Studies
Thirst
Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation* / methods