Background: Reflexology is a method used to control the pain and anxiety associated with chest tube removal in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery.
Primary study objective: This study aimed to identify the effect of foot reflexology applied before chest tube removal on pain and anxiety levels in patients with coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Methods/design: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Setting: This study was conducted in the cardiovascular surgery intensive care unit of the Baskent University Ankara Hospital.
Participants: Patients, who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery, were randomly assigned either to the reflexology group or the control group (n = 28 individuals/group).
Intervention: The reflexology group received foot reflexology for 30 minutes in two sessions (first postoperative day and before chest tube removal).
Primary outcome measures: The primary outcomes of the surgery were pain, evaluated using a Numeric Pain-Rating Scale; and anxiety, evaluated using the Profile of Mood States Scale Tension-Anxiety Subscale. Pain and anxiety were determined on the first (before and after the reflexology) and second postoperative days (before and after the reflexology and immediately, 15 min, 1 hour (only pain level) after chest tube removal).
Results: The mean pain scores of the control and intervention groups were similar during chest tube removal, 15 minutes after, and 1 hour after (P > .05). Although mean anxiety scores were comparable after chest tube removal in both groups (P > .05), a significant difference was found 15 minutes later (P < .05). The increase in pain (P = .0001) and anxiety (P = .032) levels before and after the removal was significantly less in the intervention group compared to the control group, based on pain and anxiety scores.
Conclusion: Foot reflexology significantly reduced the increase in pain and anxiety during chest tube removal in patients with coronary artery bypass graft surgery.