Many factors in patients undergoing cranial surgery (CS) may affect the bowel evacuation of patients, resulting in constipation, which could lead to the use of the valsalva maneuver. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of abdominal massage (AM) on bowel evacuation of patients treated in intensive care units (ICU) after CS.

The sample of this prospective parallel two-arm randomized controlled trial included 80 patients who underwent CS. The patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to the AM and control groups. The constipation risk of all the patients following CS was assessed with Constipation Risk Assessment Scale (CRAS). Those patients in the AM group received a total of 30 minutes of massage, 15 minutes every morning and evening, until the first defecation. The bowel sounds of all the patients in the AM 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.

Inclusion Criteria: Patients who

• volunteered to participate in the study,
• were 18 years old or older and underwent CS,
• stayed in the ICU for ≥ 3 days,

Exclusion Criteria: Patients who

• have percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy,
• abdominal hernia,
• irritable bowel syndrome
• bowel cancer,
• history of abdominal surgery,
• pregnancy,

≥18 years old

In this study, due to the nature of the intervention, only the patient was blinded. The researchers involved in the running of the study were not blinded.