J Korean Acad Fundam Nurs.  2012 Aug;19(3):292-301.

Effects of Postoperative Oral Care Using Cold Therapy on Nausea, Vomiting and Oral Discomfort in Patients with Laparoscopic Myomectomy

• Jung MY
• Choi HS
• Park KY

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of postoperative oral care using cold therapy on nausea, vomiting and oral discomfort after laparoscopic myomectomy. METHOD: The study was conducted with an experimental group (n=29) and a control group (n=35) sampled from patients admitted to a women's hospital in a metropolitan city in Korea. Data were collected between October 10, 2011 and January 31, 2012 and analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, t-test, and repeated measure ANCOVA with SPSS/WIN 19.0.
RESULTS
After the intervention, postoperative nausea (p<.001) and oral discomfort for patients in the experimental group were significantly lower than in the control group. There were significant differences in the presence of vomiting between both groups at 12 hours (p<.001) and 24 hours (p=.003) after leaving the recovery room.
CONCLUSION
Oral care using cold therapy was found to be an effective nursing intervention for reducing postoperative nausea, vomiting and oral discomfort up to 24 hours after recovery in patients with laparoscopic myomectomy.

Keyword

Postoperative nausea and vomiting; Postoperative care; Cold therapy; Laparoscopic surgery

MeSH Terms

Cold Temperature
Cryotherapy
Humans
Korea
Laparoscopy
Nausea
Postoperative Care
Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting
Vomiting