Nursing Faculty, Department of Surgical Nursing, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey.
Nursing Faculty, Department of Surgical Nursing, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
Nurs Crit Care. 2022 Jul;27(4):558-566. doi: 10.1111/nicc.12575. Epub 2020 Nov 12.
There are many factors, which affect the bowel evacuation of neurosurgical intensive care unit (NICU) patients, resulting in constipation.
The aim of this study was to investigate effect of abdominal massage on bowel evacuation and the risk of constipation in NICU patients.
A prospective, randomized-controlled clinical trial.
The sample of this study included 80 NICU patients. The patients were randomly assigned to abdominal massage and control groups. The constipation risk of all the patients was assessed with Constipation Risk Assessment Scale (CRAS). The patients in the abdominal massage group received a total of 30 minutes of massage, 15 minutes every morning and evening, until the first defecation. The bowel sounds of all patients in the abdominal massage and control groups were assessed on a daily basis. The days when bowel sounds were heard and the first defecation took place were recorded in a Bowel Evacuation Form.
The risk of constipation was higher in the patients in the abdominal massage (CRAS score 19.02 ± 1.81) and control groups (CRAS score 20.45 ± 2.61). The time of return of bowel sounds and the time of the first defecation were earlier in the abdominal massage group, compared to the control group (P < .05). In the control group, there was a weak correlation (P = .004) between the CRAS score and the time of return of bowel sounds, while there was a moderate correlation between the CRAS score and the time of the first defecation (P < .001).
Our study results show that the risk of constipation is high in NICU patients, and abdominal massage is an effective nursing intervention to shorten the time of return of bowel sounds and the time of the first defecation.
Nurses can safely apply abdominal massage to improve bowel evacuation in NICU patients.
影响神经外科重症监护病房（NICU）患者排便的因素很多，导致便秘。
本研究旨在探讨腹部按摩对 NICU 患者排便和便秘风险的影响。
前瞻性、随机对照临床试验。
本研究的样本包括 80 名 NICU 患者。患者被随机分配到腹部按摩组和对照组。所有患者的便秘风险均采用便秘风险评估量表（CRAS）进行评估。腹部按摩组的患者共接受 30 分钟的按摩，每天早晚各 15 分钟，直到第一次排便。每天评估所有腹部按摩和对照组患者的肠鸣音。记录肠鸣音出现和首次排便的天数。
腹部按摩组（CRAS 评分 19.02±1.81）和对照组（CRAS 评分 20.45±2.61）患者的便秘风险较高。与对照组相比，腹部按摩组肠鸣音恢复时间和首次排便时间更早（P<.05）。在对照组中，CRAS 评分与肠鸣音恢复时间呈弱相关（P=.004），而 CRAS 评分与首次排便时间呈中度相关（P<.001）。
我们的研究结果表明，NICU 患者便秘风险较高，腹部按摩是缩短肠鸣音恢复时间和首次排便时间的有效护理干预措施。
护士可以安全地应用腹部按摩来改善 NICU 患者的排便。
