NCT02149394

Ice Popsicle for Thirst Relief of the Surgical Patient

Efficacy of Ice Popsicle in the Management of Thirst in the Immediate Postoperative Period: Randomized Clinical Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 208 (actual)
• Sponsor: Universidade Estadual de Londrina · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of ice popsicle compared with water at room temperature in relieving thirst in the immediate postoperative period . The hypothesis of the study is that ice has 20% greater efficacy than water to relieve thirst in the immediate postoperative period.

Detailed description

There is evidence that ice is effective in relieving thirst in surgical patients, because, by stimulating the oral receptors sensitive to cold, ice decreases the need to ingest large volumes of liquids to satisfy thirst. This way, the risk of bronchoaspiration due to gastric fullness is avoided and discomfort with dry mouth is reduced. Preliminary evidence, therefore, indicates that the use of ice chips have greater efficacy than water at room temperature in relieving thirst. However, there is no scientific evidence from controlled studies with results that can be generalized with respect to a safe volume and adequate frequency of ice administered to reduce thirst in the immediate postoperative period.Considering that the gold standard for the study of a symptom is based on individuals' perceptions and their reports, this study is justified in order to assess the effectiveness of ice compared with water at room temperature in relieving thirst in the immediate postoperative period.

Conditions

• Thirst

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Ice popsicle	Patients were assessed according to the following criteria before each intervention: level of awareness; airway protection capacity; and absence of nausea and vomiting, according to the Safety Protocol for Thirst Management. The experimental group received an ice popsicle made of 10 mL mineral water. The ice popsicles were made according to the predetermined volumes and packed in the freezer of the anesthetic recovery room at the institution researched. The block of ice were supported by a stick, allowing the patients to control the intensity of cold conferred by the ice for their comfort.
OTHER	Water at room temperature	Patients were assessed according to the following criteria before each intervention: level of awareness; airway protection capacity; and absence of nausea and vomiting, according to the Safety Protocol for Thirst Management. The usual activities adopted by the nursing staff of the anesthetic recovery room were maintained for the control group that received 10 mL mineral water at room temperature in a syringe.

Timeline

• Start date: 2013-08-01
• Primary completion: 2013-12-01
• Completion: 2013-12-01
• First posted: 2014-05-29
• Last updated: 2014-05-29

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Brazil