The Effect of Postoperative Thirst on Patient Comfort and Quality of Recovery in Patients Undergoing Colorectal Surgery: An Analytical Cross‐Sectional Study

ABSTRACT Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of postoperative thirst on patient comfort and quality of recovery in patients undergoing colorectal surgery. Design This study is an analytical cross‐sectional study. Methods This study was conducted between July 2022 and January 2023 in the general surgery clinics of a university hospital in Ankara, Türkiye. The study sample consisted of 110 patients. Patient Identification Form, Thirst Symptom Assessment Scale (TSAS), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Perianesthesia Comfort Scale (PCS) and Quality of Recovery‐40 questionnaire (QoR‐40) were used for data collection. The severity of thirst was assessed three times: at the time of arrival to the postoperative clinic, at the 8th hour, and at the 24th hour, and the PCS and QoR‐40 scales were administered at the 24th hour. Results In this study, more than half of the patients were male (62.7%) and the mean age was 61.35 ± 13.79 years. The mean thirst severity of the patients was 12.25 ± 4.65, 12.36 ± 4.49 and 11.27 ± 4.76 according to the TSAS, 7.27 ± 2.39, 7.27 ± 2.01 and 6.17 ± 2.89 according to the NRS, respectively. The mean total score of PCS was 5.12 ± 0.43 and the mean total score of QoR‐40 was 171.58 ± 10.33. Postoperative 8th hour thirst severity according to NRS, PCS total score level and postoperative thirst severity measured by TSAS at three times were found to have a significant effect on QoR‐40 total score level in a decreasing direction. PCS total score was found to have a significant effect on QoR‐40 total score level in an increasing direction. Conclusions The results obtained in this study showed that the thirst symptom experienced by the patients was moderate. It was determined that an increase in the severity of thirst decreased patients' comfort and quality of recovery levels, whereas an increase in comfort level increased the level of quality of recovery. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care It is recommended that the severity of thirst should be assessed frequently with appropriate scales and appropriate nursing care should be provided for thirst management in order to increase the postoperative comfort of patients and to improve their recovery more positively. Impact No study has been found to describe and compare the effect of postoperative thirst on comfort and quality of recovery in patients undergoing colorectal surgery. In this study, it was found that an increase in the severity of postoperative thirst decreased the level of postoperative comfort and quality of recovery, whereas an increase in the level of postoperative comfort increased the level of quality of recovery. This information can be used to optimally manage the symptom of thirst after colorectal surgery, develop evidence‐based nursing interventions, and improve the quality of care. Reporting Method This study was reported according to the STROBE checklist. Patient or Public Contribution Patients answered the scales with their voluntary consent. There is no public contribution.