Effect of comfort nursing on postoperative recovery and life quality of patients undergoing thoracic surgery.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of comfort nursing on postoperative recovery and life quality of patients undergoing thoracic surgery.

Methods: A total of 400 patients undergoing thoracic surgery in our hospital from October 2017 to July 2020 were identified as research subjects and retrospectively studied. These patients were assigned to a control group (Con group, n=196, given conventional nursing) and an observation group (Obs group, n=204, given conventional nursing combined with comfort nursing) according to nursing modality. The following items of the two groups were compared: incidence of adverse reactions after surgery, MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) score, visual analog scale (VAS) scores at 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery, length of stay, first postoperative exhaust time, drainage duration, nursing satisfaction, and systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean atrial pressure (MAP), and heart rate before and after the intervention.

Results: Compared with the Con group, the Obs group showed a notably lower total incidence of adverse reactions and had higher SF-36 scores after surgery. The Obs group had lower VAS scores at 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery than the Con group. The Obs group also experienced significantly shorter length of stay and drainage duration and earlier first postoperative exhaust time in contrast to the Con group. In addition, the Obs group obtained a higher satisfaction rate than the Con group, and patients in the Obs group had better treatment compliance and emotionalal status than those in the Con group. Moreover, the two groups presented no significant difference in SBP, DBP, MAP, or heart rate before and after intervention (all P>0.05).

Conclusion: For patients undergoing thoracic surgery, comfort nursing can greatly improve their life quality and contribute to their postoperative recovery.