Effect of a Symptom Management Program Combined with Acupressure Massage on Recovery of Bowel Function after Open Abdominal Surgery in Colorectal Cancer Patients in the Intensive Care Unit
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Keywords:
acupressure massage, bowel function after surgery, open abdominal surgery, colorectal cancerAbstract
Postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction can affect bowel function recovery, particularly in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery for colorectal cancer who are treated in the intensive care unit. This can lead to serious complications and increased treatment costs. This Quasi-Experimental Study aimed to compare bowel functional recovery after open abdominal surgery among patients with colorectal cancer between an experimental group receiving an acupressure massage program combined with symptom management and a control group receiving traditional nursing care. The sample group consisted of 44 colorectal cancer patients
(≥20 years) who underwent open abdominal surgery and were admitted to the surgical intensive care unit at Thammasat University Hospital. They were divided into a control group (n=22) and an experimental group
(n=22) using convenience sampling. The experimental group received a symptom management program combined with acupressure massage for 5 days after surgery. This involved daily trunk and leg movements for 10–15 minutes, combined with acupressure massage at Zusanli (ST36) twice daily for 10 minutes each time. The control group received standard nursing care. The research instruments included a program of acupressure massage combined with symptom management, a personal information questionnaire, bowel function recovery assessment, and a behavioral assessment for managing postoperative bowel dysfunction. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test and Friedman test. The study found that Patients with colorectal cancer who underwent open abdominal surgery and subsequently received a symptom management program combined with acupressure massage had significantly higher average scores for bowel function recovery on days 3 to 5 post-operatively compared to the control group receiving only conventional nursing care (p < 0.05). Research results show that this program can effectively aid in the rehabilitation of bowel function after surgery in patients receiving treatment in the critical care unit.
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