NCT07506226

Cold Water Gargling After Major Abdominal Surgery

The Effect of Cold Gargling on Oral Dryness, Thirst Severity, and Patient Satisfaction in Patients Who Have Undergone Major Abdominal Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 88 (actual)
• Sponsor: TC Erciyes University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This randomized controlled trial examined the effect of cold water gargling on postoperative oral dryness, thirst severity, and patient satisfaction in patients who underwent major abdominal surgery. Patients were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (cold water gargling) or the control group (standard care). Thirst severity and oral dryness were assessed using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS; 0-10) at postoperative 8, 12, and 24 hours. Perioperative thirst-related discomfort was evaluated using the Perioperative Thirst Discomfort Scale (PTDS; score range 0-12), and patient satisfaction was assessed using a VAS (0-10) at postoperative 24 hours. The study was conducted at Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine Gevher Nesibe Hospital, General Surgery Clinic. A total of 88 patients were enrolled (44 per group). The study aimed to provide evidence for a simple, low-cost nursing intervention to improve postoperative patient comfort.

Conditions

• Major Abdominal Surgeries

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Cold water gargling	Patients gargled with cold water at postoperative 8, 12, and 24 hours. Each gargling session involved approximately 10 mL of cold water (approximately 4°C) for 30 seconds. The procedure was performed under nurse supervision. Patients were instructed not to swallow the water and to spit it out after gargling. No oral fluid intake was permitted during the study period per standard postoperative protocol.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-03-19
• Primary completion: 2026-03-01
• Completion: 2026-03-01
• First posted: 2026-04-01
• Last updated: 2026-04-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)