Postoperative Discomfort After Abdominal Surgery: An Observational Study

Patients who have surgery may experience distress in the following days. Although postoperative distress is a common experience, few studies have analyzed these patient complaints in-depth. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the potential causes of patients' discomfort after abdomi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of perianesthesia nursing 2015-08, Vol.30 (4), p.272-279
Main Authors: Robleda, Gemma, Roche-Campo, Ferran, Sánchez, Virtudes, Gich, Ignasi, Baños, Josep-E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdomen - surgery
abdominal surgery
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Movement
Nursing
Pain, Postoperative
postoperative care unit
Postoperative Complications
postoperative discomfort
postoperative well-being
Xerostomia
Young Adult
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Summary:Patients who have surgery may experience distress in the following days. Although postoperative distress is a common experience, few studies have analyzed these patient complaints in-depth. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the potential causes of patients' discomfort after abdominal surgery. This was a prospective and observational study. Patients (N = 131) were asked to rate their discomfort twice using a list of nine items in the first 6 to 8 hours after surgery and at 24 hours after its completion. Participants were asked to score intensity from 0 (absent) to 10 (unbearable). The main causes of discomfort at 24 hours were pain (82%), movement restriction (79%), and dry mouth (70%). These items also had the highest scores (by gender, women scored higher than did men in insomnia, dry mouth, and abdominal distension). No significant differences were observed between patients who had undergone open or laparoscopic surgery. It was concluded that pain, movement restriction, and dry mouth were the most disturbing causes of discomfort. Therefore, symptoms other than pain should be considered to improve the well-being of patients after abdominal surgery.
ISSN:1089-9472
1532-8473
DOI:10.1016/j.jopan.2014.06.005