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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2025 Jun 7;25(1):660.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-025-07770-2.

Effect of gum chewing and cold therapy on postoperative cesarean women's self-assessed pain levels and narcotics use: a comparative study

Reda Mhmoud Mohamed Hables  1 , Nor El-Hoda Mohamed El-Sayed ElShabory  2 , Esraa Mostafa Abd El-Aty Ibrahim  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of gum chewing and cold therapy on postoperative cesarean women's self-assessed pain levels and narcotics use: a comparative study

Reda Mhmoud Mohamed Hables et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: One of the most important things for women having cesarean deliveries to focus on is effective pain management. Nursing practice to lessen labor pain may be significantly impacted by the application of a nonpharmacologic treatment.

Aim: Evaluate the effect of gum chewing and cold therapy on postoperative cesarean women's self-assessed pain levels and narcotics use.

Method: A Quasi Experimental intervention design was used in the study at inpatient units of Dar Sahet Elmar`Aa hospital that follow Egypt healthcare authority in Port Said city. Purposive sample of 159 pregnant women who enrolled randomly in the three parallel groups. Two tools were used for collecting data in the study as A self-Administered questionnaire and the visual analog scale (VAS) were used.

Results: The overall mean VAS score among the Cold pack gel group was 4.216 ± 0.716, Gum chewing group was 4.314 ± 0.908, while control group was 5.714 ± 1.232 with statistically significance differences among groups. Furthermore, over one quarter in cold therapy group, less than one quarter in Gum chewing group (32.1 and 28.3%, respectively) stopped taking analgesics 24 h after surgery, compared to only 7.5% of control group.

Conclusion: Cold pack gel and gum chewing offer simple and cost-effective alternatives for postoperative pain management; however, cold pack gel has been shown to be substantially more effective in improving pain scores at four, eight, twelve, and twenty-four hours after surgery. In addition to its impact on reducing the need for opioid prescription drugs. Trial Registration Number (TRN). The study protocol was registered by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University with code number: NUR22 on 6/2/2023.

Keywords: Cesarean section; Cold therapy; Gum chewing; Narcotic use; Pain.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All methods and procedures for this study were carried out according to relevant guidelines and regulations. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (REC), Faculty of Nursing/ Port Said University with (code number: NUR 3/2/2023(22)). based on the standard of the committee, Faculty of Nursing/ Por Said University, and adhered to the declaration of Helinski. An official letter containing the title and the aim of the study was sent from the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing - Port Said University to the director of each setting to obtain approval from the hospital administrator for data collection in the abovementioned settings. Informed consent for participation in the study was obtained from women after clearing out all aspects of the study. The study did not directly or indirectly expose women to any diagnosis or treatment. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A visual analog scale that has been used in clinical settings
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Overall mean score of pain between three groups
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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