Effectiveness of bran supplement in older orthopaedic patients with constipation

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of planned nursing interventions, including bran supplement, on the bowel management of older orthopaedic patients.

Background: Constipation is prevalent among older people. Constipation is also well-known to be a problem for a range of orthopaedic patients. Orthopaedic diseases or conditions may, because of the specific problems, cause this. The problem may also arise as a result of the orthopaedic treatment options undertaken by patients.

Design: A quasiexperimental design was employed.

Methods: The patients were recruited from an orthopaedic clinic at a university hospital in Erzurum, eastern Turkey. Descriptive statistics, independent sample test t-test, chi-square and McNemar test were used to analyse the data. Constipation problems were identified through interviews by using the Constipation Diagnosis Form. Interviews were performed within the fourth postoperative day. After that, while the patients in the control group received routine nursing care according to clinic routine, the patients in the experimental group received bran supplement together with planned nursing interventions. The patents in both groups were followed by using the Constipation Follow Form.

Results: While patients in the experimental group showed significant improvements in most characteristics of bowel elimination such as time of defecation, intensity of faeces, colour of faeces and amount of faeces, the control group showed a significant improvement in only duration of defecation.

Conclusions: The results of the study indicate planned nursing interventions including bran supplement are more effective than routine nursing interventions for management of constipation problems in older orthopaedic patients.

Relevance to clinical practice: Nurses have an important part to play in both prevention and management of constipation. Constipation is a problem especially for older orthopaedic patients. Planned nursing interventions that include bran supplements may be more effective than routine nursing interventions for management of constipation problems in older orthopaedic patients.