Foot Reflexology to Reduce Pain and Anxiety Before Chest Tube Removal

Effect of The Foot Reflexology Applied Before Chest Tube Removal on the Pain And Anxiety Level: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In open heart surgeries, patients experience severe pain due to tissue trauma, damage to intercostal nerves, and muscle spasm due to pulling tubes from the mediastinal space and between the pleural leaves pull during chet tube removal (CTR). When acute pain is not relieved, the patient develops emotional, psychological (eg post-traumatic stress disorder) and physical problems (eg chronic pain) after surgery. Since this situation negatively affects the healing process, it increases the anxiety level of the patients and decreases the comfort level. Reflexology is one of the non-pharmacological methods used in the management of pain and anxiety after open heart surgery The aim of this randomized controlled study was to identify the effect of foot reflexology applied before chest tube removal process on pain and anxiety level. This study will be done a randomized-controlled trial to test the intervention.

Background: Patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery suffer from anxiety and pain due to the chest tube removal (CTR).

Objective/Hypothesis: The aim of this randomized controlled study was to identify the effect of foot reflexology applied before chest tube removal process on pain and anxiety level.The following hypotheses (H) were tested in this study:

H1a : There was a difference between the reflexology group and the control group in terms of pain level during CTR.

H1b : There was a difference between the reflexology group and the control group in terms of anxiety level during CTR.

H1c : There was a difference between the reflexology group and the control group in terms of the difference between the pain level before CTR and during CTR.

H1d : There was a difference between the reflexology group and the control group in terms of the difference between the anxiety level before CTR and during CTR.

Study design: A randomized controlled trial. Method: The study sample who has gone through coronary artery bypass graft surgery was randomly assigned to reflexology or the control group (twenty- eight each in). The primary outcomes were pain, evaluated using a numeric pain-rating scale, and anxiety evaluated by the profile of mood states scale tension-anxiety subscale, both measured first (before and after reflexology) and second postoperative days (before the reflexology and immediately after chest tube removal, 15th minutes and 1 h).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult patients over 18 years who have CABG surgery
• Having at least two chest tube catheters
• Having chest tubes removed together
• Volunteering to participate in the research

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with diagnosed with psychiatric illness
• Having orientation or confusion problems, complete vision or hearing loss, mental problems due to problems such as dementia, mental retardation, and language problems
• Having pacemaker, varicose veins in the ankles
• Having chronic pain
• Having femoral fracture and open wound on the sole of the foot
• Having acute infection and hyperthermia, thromboembolism, suspected deep vein thrombosis at the postoperatively