Effect of Postoperative Oral Rinsing on Dehydration-Related Discomfort, Comfort, and Bowel Movement

Effect of Postoperative Oral Rinsing on Thirst-Related Discomfort, Comfort Level, and Bowel Movement in Individuals Undergoing Abdominal Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of oral rinsing with water in the postoperative period on thirst, comfort level, and bowel motility in patients undergoing abdominal surgery under general anesthesia.

This study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial with pretest-posttest design, including intervention and control groups. It was carried out between June 2024 and December 2024 with patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery. Sample size was calculated using G*Power 3.1.9.7 software, with an effect size of 0.50, α=0.05, and power=0.85. A total of 82 participants (41 per group) were initially planned, and considering a 10% data loss, the study was completed with 98 participants (49 in each group). Patients were stratified according to their diagnoses and randomized in a 1:1 ratio using block randomization with a random number table.

Three data collection forms were used. SPSS 22.00 package program was used to analyze the data. Skewnes-Kurtosis analyses were performed to determine the conformity of the data to a normal distribution. Frequency (n) and percentage (%) distributions were calculated to determine the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the participants. A t-test for independent samples was used to determine the mean differences between two independent groups, a t-test for dependent samples was used to compare pre- and post-intervention measurements, and a single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for repeated measures. Cohen's d effect size was calculated to assess the significance of the difference between the groups in terms of the intervention. Statistical significance was accepted as p<0.05.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Comfort; Abdominal Surgeries; Postoperative Thirst; Bowel Movements
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: oral rinsing; Other: rutine service operation

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 98
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Sivas, Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Sivas Cumhuriyet University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Included Criteria

• To communicate,
• Aged 18 or older,
• Agreed to participate
• Scheduled for elective surgery.

Exclusion Criteria

• Over 80 years old,
• Had a mental disorder that prevented them from rinsing their mouth,
• Unconscious after surgery, were at
• Risk of swallowing water during rinsing,
• Underwent emergency surgery.

Refusion Criteria

• Refused to complete the post-test
• Intensive care after surgery

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Abdominal surgery patients receiving oral rinsing; Abdominal surgery patients	Other: oral rinsing; The experimental group received a postoperative mouth rinse with pure water.
Other: rutine service operation; Abdominal surgery patients	Other: rutine service operation; No additional intervention will be made to the control group; only data collection forms will be applied.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Scores of Mental State Assessment pre-test post-test on experimental group	Mini Mental State Assessment (MMSA): A cognitive screening tool with 11 items in five domains (orientation, registration, attention/calculation, recall, language). Scores range 0-30; ≤23 indicates impairment. Administration takes 5-10 minutes. Turkish validity and reliability are established.	1 day
Personal Information experimental group	Personal Information Form: Developed by researchers based on literature and clinical observation. The first section includes demographic and clinical data (age, gender, education, diagnosis, preoperative fasting time, postoperative oral intake time). The second section records bowel sounds.	1 day
Scores of Surgical Period Thirst Discomfort pre-test post-test on experimental group	Surgical Period Thirst Discomfort Scale (SPTDS): Adapted to 6 items with a 3-point Likert scale (0-2). Total score is 0-12; higher scores indicate greater thirst-related discomfort.Surgical Period Thirst Discomfort Scale (SPTDS)	1 day
Comfort levels pre-test post-test on experimental group	VAS-10: A 10-cm line used to evaluate comfort; 0 = lowest, 10 = highest comfort. Higher scores reflect greater comfort.	1 day
Scores of Mental State Assessment pre-test post-test on control group	Mini Mental State Assessment (MMSA): A cognitive screening tool with 11 items in five domains (orientation, registration, attention/calculation, recall, language). Scores range 0-30; ≤23 indicates impairment. Administration takes 5-10 minutes. Turkish validity and reliability are established.	1 day
Personal Information control group	Personal Information Form: Developed by researchers based on literature and clinical observation. The first section includes demographic and clinical data (age, gender, education, diagnosis, preoperative fasting time, postoperative oral intake time). The second section records bowel sounds.	1 day
Scores of Surgical Period Thirst Discomfort pre-test post-test on control group	Surgical Period Thirst Discomfort Scale (SPTDS): Adapted to 6 items with a 3-point Likert scale (0-2). Total score is 0-12; higher scores indicate greater thirst-related discomfort.Surgical Period Thirst Discomfort Scale (SPTDS)	1 day
Comfort levels pre-test post-test on control group	VAS-10: A 10-cm line used to evaluate comfort; 0 = lowest, 10 = highest comfort. Higher scores reflect greater comfort.	1 day

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Cumhuriyet University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Pınar YILMAZ EKER, Asst. Prof. Dr., Cumhuriyet University; Study Director: Ayşegül KAYA İMREK, Res. Asst., Cumhuriyet University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Babacan-Yildiz G, Ur-Ozcelik E, Kolukisa M, Isik AT, Gursoy E, Kocaman G, Celebi A. [Validity and Reliability Studies of Modified Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE-E) For Turkish Illiterate Patients With Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease]. Turk Psikiyatri Derg. 2016 Spring;27(1):41-6. Turkish.
• Yaray O, Akesen B, Ocaklioglu G, Aydinli U. Validation of the Turkish version of the visual analog scale spine score in patients with spinal fractures. Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc. 2011;45(5):353-8. doi: 10.3944/AOTT.2011.2528.
• Özsoy, H. , Güreş, Z., Dolgun, E. & Yavuz van Giersbergen, M. (2023). Cerrahi Dönem Susuzluğa Bağlı Rahatsızlık Ölçeği (CDSBRÖ) Türkçe Geçerlik ve Güvenirliği. Fırat Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 37 (3), 237- 242.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 5, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 5, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): December 5, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 22, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 17, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): November 19, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 19, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 17, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Nursing care; perioperative care; Comfort; Bowel Movements; Abdominal surgeries; Postoperative Thirst
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2024-01/33

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: We plan to publish the study in an international journal.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: data were collected for 6 months
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No